The Power of the European King
by ulfark
Summary: AU: After the assassination of his mother Lelouch plots his revenge. He can never move freely inside the empire, so he must escape to another country without becoming another political hostage. However only one place is opposed to Britannia and can actually do something about it and that's the EU! Tags: political and manipulative.
1. Check almost checkmate

**The Power of the European King**

**Chapter One Check Almost Checkmate**

**Prologue**

**Seventeenth of February 2009 Ascension Throne Britannia**

**Holy Empire of Britannia, Pendragon, Aries Villa**

Lelouch was sitting at a long table, pondering his next move. Opposite of him sat his older brother Schneizel, who was far too serene for the young prince's tastes.

He knew he couldn't beat his brother quite yet, but that unperturbed façade was infuriating nonetheless. He could sympathize with how Schneizel's opponents must feel. Dominated, just by that warm open expression.

It was like every move you made merely prolonged the inevitable, and only played into his hands even more. The infuriating part was that Schneizel had the mind to make that feeling reality. It was a self-fulfilling prophecy that quickly became stated fact.

"Are our siblings still calling you the peasant prince Lelouch?" Schneizel asked, after finally making his move. Lelouch grimaced briefly at the reminder, but replied, "Yes, not that it bothers me."

"Oh? How mature of you." It was said calmly, but he clearly didn't buy it.

Lelouch could have expanded of course, that he was proud of his mother's accomplishments. She alone had risen on her own merit, and not on her ancestors' glory. Most of the nobles were incompetent fools, relying on past events to carry them, but his mother had done it in one generation, and before the age of 40 at that.

"They could only wish for a mother half as capable as mine." He said, giving in to his temptation.

"Indeed, not many could have made it all the way from a farmer's daughter to Empress!" He let out a small chuckle. "They call me a prodigy, but I could never surpass your mother's accomplishments." He said it with a smile that revealed nothing, as usual.

It was still quite early in the race for the next Emperor, but already Schneizel was being pegged as a favorite. Cornelia was the runner up, what with her military career. Odysseus though, despite his head start, was losing ground fast to his younger siblings. Already, he was starting to retreat towards being mostly involved in the arts.

In other words, he'd already given up, and was building a reputation as a useless idiot. At the very least, it was an effort to make it not worthwhile to assassinate him without reason. Sure, he was first in line for the throne, but that didn't mean he had to die before another took that position. So long as he publicly announced he was willing to abdicate, then he was no longer a real threat to the others. He hadn't yet of course, because it would make him look weak, but all the players knew the subtle hints that he would when required.

"Even the great Schneizel recognizes her brilliance, though I must admit, there was a fair bit of luck involved." It wouldn't do to brag distastefully, especially when it wasn't about his own accomplishments. He despised those weak fools who recited their ancestor's deeds like they were their own, to make themselves seem more important.

"True. A chance encounter with Ruben Ashford, and becoming the test pilot for the Ganymede were both crucial to her success." The statement was made casually, while he made his move to take his knight.

"Indeed, or she would never have sparked the interest of our father. But I believe she would have gone far regardless." said Lelouch. Despite his words, he was not really convinced of it himself. Britannia placed more value in blood than skills.

His mother couldn't have afforded the Officers Academy. Even if she could've, she would have been discriminated against there every day. She'd excelled through basic training, but would never have attained greatness. At least, not without Ruben Ashford.

The unlikely pair had met and hit it off, thanks to his mother's vivacious personality and humor. They became good friends, and Ruben loaned her the money to attend the officer's academy, good naturedly claiming it was a worthwhile investment.

"It was a shrewd move on Ruben's part to invest in talent when he saw it." complimented Schneizel, after not giving a single twitch when Lelouch gave up his black knight to strike Schneizel's rook.

Indeed, his seemingly whimsical decision paid many dividends when she attracted the attention of Prince Charles. Lord Ashford even gave her stock in the Ashford foundation, to align their interests. Undoubtedly, Ruben Ashford had hoped that prince Charles would look favourably on the company that his romantic interest had a large part in.

The gambit succeeded, and the Ashford family and Marianne threw their lot in with Prince Charles in his bid for the throne, dyeing the streets of Saint Darwin red in the process.

They won and secured their continued hold on the throne by buying all the media companies to spin it to their advantage. The Ashford family earned billions on the military contracts to design and build the Glasgow. Marianne became an empress and Charles the emperor, opposition got a visit from Marianne and the swing votes got bribes and hush money.

They had bribed the key nobles beforehand off course but additional obstacles always emerged. It was Murphy's Law; anything that can go wrong will go wrong.

Those key nobles were those who married their daughters to prince Charles before he became emperor and that was why he was so far back in line for the throne. His mother had provided the biggest contribution to making his father emperor but the others had to be bribed first.

His mother could have taken them out, but that would descend the entire country into civil war and the word of the emperor would be worth nothing. So they were stuck, a contract was made and had to be honoured.

In some ways, the emperor's position was just as precarious as Lelouch's. He had to maintain an air of superiority and invincibility at all times. The public may spout love for the imperial family but weren't really loyal; some even outright hated them. But, they were brainwashed to believe that nobles were superior, and therefore had the right to rule, without really caring who those nobles were. Without the showmanship to convince the public he was indeed superior, his hold on the throne was tenuous at best.

It was a den of snakes, and his father was just the biggest snake around. It wouldn't be long before like in lion prides, a new male lion would challenge his authority and kill him to take over. It made Lelouch wonder why so many nobles were so eager to be associated with the imperial family, when they knew about its bloody history.

"A move worthy of yourself no doubt." Lelouch finally answered after a few moments of contemplation.

"You flatter me Lelouch." Schneizel took his compliment gracefully.

He didn't have enough support to make his own bid and they both knew it. That left only a good right hand man status in one of the factions vying for power. The other factions looked down on him too much to recognize his worth, but Schneizel was different and already sinking his claws into him at this early age to cement his loyalty.

It was indeed shrewd and a good plan, but Lelouch didn't want to make commitments too early. Early entrance meant a high position in the hierarchy, but also tied you down. Schneizel was good, but Lelouch wasn't sure what his end game was, so he decided to play hard to get a while longer.

It didn't really matter; he wasn't pressed for an answer. They both knew he was too young to make any real impact just yet, but they were dancing around each other nonetheless. So, he was playing hard to get, to make Schneizel value him more, instead of sucking up and being turned into a expendable servant.

Schneizel made his next move, which gave Lelouch pause. He could see he had already lost.

"Well this has been fun, but it seems you got me Schneizel." The remark was good natured, casually hiding how much it vexed him to lose yet again.

"Don't sell yourself short Lelouch, you might still win. You won't know unless you try."

"Very well."

Despite Schneizel's encouragement it was a lost game, but fighting back when at a disadvantage was a valuable skill, and one Lelouch was getting good at. It was both good practice, and a metaphor for his life. Always the underdog trying to survive not win, while protecting the king, his sister Nunnally.

As expected he lost, but in the end, he managed to force Schneizel to give up a few more pieces than initially expected. It could be considered a win, if a bit hollow.

"Same time next week." he proposed amicably.

"Looking forward to it Lelouch." Schneizel said, as he got up from his seat.

They exchanged a few more pleasantries and parted ways, one to head for the parliament, and the other to go play a game of hide and seek with his little sister. The difference in itinerary made it painfully obvious to Lelouch that they weren't on the same playing level, although he had some plans to get there.

* * *

**Pendragon, Hospital**

The day after the assassination of the empress Marianne VI Britannia

Lelouch had trouble believing his eyes but no matter how many times he blinked or pinched himself. He still saw the same damn thing, a frail looking Nunnaly about to undergo another medical scan of one variety or another. MRI or CT scan, he had no clue what it all meant but they all told the same story, his sister would never walk again.

This handicap was troublesome but certainly manageable with modern technology, some roads had closed to her and others had become more difficult but she still had plenty of options to choose from if it was just that. No the gods hadn't decided to be that merciful, no they had opted to take her sight as well.

There was no medical explanation for it other than perhaps some severe mental trauma that suppressed her ability to even see. It made no sense to him and he doubted he even wanted to fully understand it, at least for the moment. He would probably research it exhaustively within two weeks, but now he couldn't focus on it.

So many things had gone wrong and he found himself losing track of how many problems he had to fix. Nunnaly was essentially a worthless pawn on the board now.

"It will be alright your highness" reassured one of the royal guards, a man by the name of Jeremiah Gottwald. He wouldn't have even acknowledged his presence if he hadn't been included in the many games Lelouch played with Nunnaly. He actually could offer some heartfelt consolations rather than meaningless platitudes meant to butter him up for future ploys.

"How Jerry, how can it ever be alright?" he asked a bit more harshly than he had intended but he could barely contain his fury at the situation.

"My lord?" he questioned unsure of how to respond to that

"My sister was naïve and gullible, which made her easy prey in court intrigue, making her an unfavourable bride to begin with for most power hungry nobles. That combined with her physical and now apparently also mental handicaps and they wouldn't want to touch her with a ten foot pole." snapped Lelouch knowing full well the implications of social Darwinism.

"I understand the need to marry well, but such scum is unworthy of the lady Nunnaly!" Jeremiah said with conviction.

"Agreed, normally I would say good riddance to the lot of them. They weren't worthy to lick her boots, let alone marry her. But now with the tragic demise of our mother, we are vulnerable Jeremiah. "Admitted Lelouch though the very notion of selling off his sister to the highest bidder to earn him a better position turned his stomach.

Seeing Jeremiah's uncomprehending face Lelouch continued through gritted teeth "With the death of our mother we are unprotected and only worth as much as the other nobles deem us, and right now the prevailing consensus is worthless." As much as it sickened him, there would be no escaping trading a marriage offer to gain other nobles' protection. The emperor was a callous bastard on the best of days so he wouldn't expect anything from him.

"Perhaps prince Schneizel or Princess Cornelia can help then, they have always been good friends of the family." proposed Jeremiah while keeping strategic silence on the rest of the family. It might be construed as treason if he aired his real opinion on them.

"Possible but not enough. There is some plot afoot with backing from someone high up the ranks. Schneizel won't involve himself in this mess without a clear incentive, which he doesn't have. That man is a master of coming out of any situation smelling like roses and the basics of that skill is not stepping into a situation he isn't sure he can win. "Lelouch silently cursed himself for playing 'hard to get' now. He could really use some mutually exchanged promises of support right about now. It might not have been enough to convince Schneizel to help him but it would be a good starting point.

"How about princess Cornelia then? She might still be held up in the investigation but she will be cleared soon enough, and can take you under her wing." offered Jeremiah without agreeing or disagreeing on the calculating and ruthless nature of the second prince according to Lelouch.

"A better alternative or at least a cheaper one." Lelouch mused "However she is too brutish to understand the problem enough to deal with it. She is learning but she managed mostly by staying out of court affairs by claiming she needed to focus on her military career." Which was a good excuse because no noble could doubt her statements after she said 'All Hail Britannia'. It wasn't just a national slogan but also a dismissal that couldn't be ignored.

The fact that she was a pure-blooded noble didn't hurt either but it also meant that she would have a hard time seeing all the possible threats. Nobles who were kind-hearted and forgiving towards her could be the fiercest opponents for Lelouch.

The fun thing about court intrigue was that the rules of engagement and who the enemy was differed from person to person. It was the main reason why it was so incomprehensible to an outsider and only by long observation could one truly understand it. Cornelia's voluntary exile from court did her no favours there.

"I see." Jeremiah grudgingly accepted "Well it doesn't matter until she is released from her holding cell but you might want to reconsider, she is a better player than you give her credit for." said Jeremiah who still had faith in his captain.

"Perhaps." allowed Lelouch realizing belatedly that his less than high opinion of his sister's political skills would now undoubtedly get back to her. He may now have to sooth his sister's ego before expecting any help from that corner. His big mouth had just created another problem for him to deal with.

He didn't question the fact that she could help, but only the amount and whether it would be enough. She herself was in the middle of her own political battle after the questionable death of his mother. Her sudden withdrawal was suspicious because it was well known that Marianne didn't trust any noble other than the emperor. Cornelia's enemies were coming out of the woodwork, now that they smelled blood in the water. The attacks coming from princes Carine's mother were especially fierce and unfair, taking special care to twist everything into their favour.

Luckily, the Li Britannia line had plenty of firepower to survive the onslaught relatively unharmed but it would temporarily cripple their political power, leaving Cornelia without much ammo to fight on his behalf. Somehow, he suspected that to be the reason for his half sister's attack, they couldn't strike at him directly so soon after the tragic demise of his mother but they could erode his support before they landed the final blow. They always held a strong hatred for him based on his commoner origins and believed him to be a stain on the honour of the imperial family that should be wiped out.

Sadly, he knew they would soon have enough momentum to get their wish now that their mother couldn't strong arm the emperor into protecting them anymore. He held no childish illusions despite what his mother may have said about his father, that man didn't love any of his children.

The emperor saw every single one of his children as a card to be played depending on its value. Some were good at politics like Schneizel or the military like Cornelia but most weren't especially valuable, so he didn't play them and left them alone. He would have been fine with rotting in obscurity but he had now become a liability, a source of discord within the court with no redeeming features despite the promise he had shown as an intellectual. The emperor wouldn't chance destabilizing his empire to indulge on a whim that Lelouch might someday prove a valuable investment. Most would crack under that kind of pressure making the investment worthless to begin with, Lelouch had confidence he could succeed but he doubted he would get the chance.

The only way he was going to avoid a suicide assignment in the near future was to take the bulls-eye off his back, or in other words his claim to the throne. So long as he had that, he held power over Brittanian nobles and remained a threat. However, with none willing to join his cause it was a hollow power at best and more of a burden, so it was best to discard it.

He had to hurry, but still give a valid reason for doing it or risk sounding like a spoilt brat on a temper tantrum.

He then noticed that Jeremiah was still squirming next to him apparently he was working up the courage to say something, judging from his mouth opening and closing repeatedly without saying anything .

"Spit it out Jeremiah!" he ordered

"My, my lord I regret to inform you that the royal investigation has been called off by the emperor." He said fearfully though Lelouch could see the anguish in his eyes too as he gave the message. Judging from the phone in his hands, he had just heard the news himself. The man looked on the verge of a breakdown and was only keeping it together for his sake. He held little doubt the man would collapse as soon as he left his presence.

Anger was boiling up inside him at this betrayal by the emperor; apparently, he was already caving to the pressures of the royal court. Or maybe he had just rolled over right away to prevent any more discontent among the nobles, by disclaiming any love he had held for his so-called favourite consort.

It was a shrewd political move to cut any and all losses right away, but sadly those losses meant not finding his mother's killer and he and Nunnaly were next on the list.

He took another glance at Nunnaly and smiled wickedly, the answer to his problem was staring right at him.

"Jeremiah request an audience with the emperor as soon as possible." He ordered firmly with only a hint of righteous fury seeping into his tone. It wouldn't do to lose his composure now, better to save it for his performance later on.

Jeremiah was quick to follow his order and left the room

Lelouch followed him but with a different destination in mind than the imperial palace. He stared up at the sky as he contemplated his new course; it would seem their time as royalty had ran out. The only thing he could do now was to play his stall tactic, while putting the pieces in place for his next move.

As he walked he pondered if he could perhaps include Jeremiah, the man seemed loyal enough. He seemed to be blaming himself and craved if not absolution or forgiveness at least a way to atone. He could twist that into loyalty to himself and Nunnaly, if he played his cards right.

* * *

**Pendragon Aries Villa**

Lelouch was on the phone micromanaging the last details of his plan. Due to his young age, nobody wanted to take him seriously, forcing him to use a law firm as intermediaries. For some reason everyone respected a lawyer in a suit more than a prepubescent prince.

His plan was mostly focused on monetary damage because he couldn't hope to convince anyone to partake in lethal solutions. They would write him off as a little kid not knowing what he was talking about. So he would have to settle for the lesser revenge for now.

"My apologies your highness, but it's time you have been summoned to the royal court." Jeremiah informed him

Lelouch sighed at the roll call for his scheduled performance. Though he knew why he had to do it, he still dreaded the moment he had to utter the words. For years, it had been drilled into him that disinheriting himself was as bad as killing himself. In a way it was true, he would be effectively dead on the board but faking his political death was the only way to survive.

He did a mental check of his actions so far to make sure he hadn't done anything that could be traced back to him, not yet at least. Even Schneizel shouldn't have anticipated his moves before the first strike became public. So there shouldn't be anything to be thrown in his face in front of the emperor, he hoped.

* * *

**Pendragon Imperial Palace**

Lelouch showed up in impeccable attire worthy of a prince despite him feeling trapped within it, for more than one reason. He listened to the barely restrained whispers about his mother's fate and how glad they were that they no longer had to put up with that filthy commoner. His blood boiled listening to these vultures. However, he restrained himself and put up a cool façade of emotionless indifference. He bowed to the emperor and waited at his pleasure.

When prompted with the question why he had requested an audience he loudly demanded justice for his mother by having the emperor investigate the murder. It came off as slightly foolish and naïve but it was excusable with his age. Though it was only the precursor to his next move, the raw emotion bleeding into his voice was real.

He toyed with the idea of airing out why the emperor couldn't investigate the murder to shame him but refrained. There was no need to go that far, if he did, it would lead to more than him just being disinherited.

After thinking it over, he knew that his mother's assassination was not being investigated by the emperor, because it put him in an awkward position. The emperor couldn't punish the other royal families without proof, and to expose them would damage his reputation by extension. Nor could he quietly kill them all, because that would lower the invincibility of the emperor. He couldn't appear powerless to stop some assassins from killing his entire family.

It all came down to prestige, his mother did not have enough of it and his father had to retain it. It was a corrupt system, his mother was worth far more than these measly nobles were but they had to look good to the public and other nobles. His mother had already served her purpose in gaining the throne but those who killed her kept his father on it. Because of this simple reality, his mother was comparatively worthless. Talk of how she was his favourite wife did nothing in the end to save her.

The emperor denied him as expected but much more harshly than he had expected. He was shocked and struck speechless with the callous disregard the man had for him.

Lelouch had no trouble summoning the necessary outrage to sell his performance as he tried to barter his royal inheritance against the investigation. It must have sounded like a desperate gambit from a foolish child but he didn't care. In fact, he was hoping it sounded like that because it would only make people overlook him more.

Though the proudly defying the emperor bit would help him later, if he was to ever plan his return. He had no intention of doing so, but it wasn't wise to burn all his bridges and besides his ego demanded he died politically in a manner he could be proud off.

Naturally, the emperor was unfazed and just reiterated how worthless he really was to him. He even went so far as to throw him away as a political hostage. Lelouch knew enough of the Sakuradite issue to know it was a war waiting to happen. Japan wasn't compromising enough to Britannia's liking in their trade deals. And even If they caved, Britannia would still prefer the precious resource to be under their complete control to prevent shortages and arm-twisting at a later stage. If you took morality out of the issue which was a given for Britannia. Then you could logically conclude that it was imperative for Britannia to control a monopoly of Sakuradite as soon as possible.

With the introduction of Sakuradite, new technological innovations became possible that were written off as just pure science fiction before. If Britannia dragged its feet to control it, they would be left behind in the inevitable arms race. And with the majority of the world already resentful of Britannia, it was only a matter of time before they declared war as a united front to liberate the areas.

So in a nutshell, the very survival of the empire depended on them gaining and staying in control of the main source of Sakuradite. They had the most powerful military in the world but it didn't mean they could beat all the others combined. They couldn't risk giving a pretext that the democratic countries could use to rally their civilians against Britannia.

So they needed a provocation or justification to stay the hand of the EU, the only powerhouse they couldn't win a protracted war against. This was where he and Nunnaly came in.

They would probably get a few months to live before dying tragically as martyrs to embolden the Britannian soldiers and keep foreign interference to pointless diplomatic chatter. It struck him as funny that the emperor proclaimed him to be dead to him since the moment he was born in the same breath as he sentenced him to death.

This changed things rather drastically, no longer was a mere ploy for survival good enough because the emperor just sentenced him to death. He needed everything he had to ensure his survival but he had just thrown away his most potent tool in doing so, his right to the throne!

It was ironic that he threw away everything to save his life only to lose it anyway and needed to regain it if he stood any chance of survival.

He supposed he should have seen it coming. He had tried to become a worthless card so the emperor would play him like he did his siblings, to avoid attracting their petty jealousies but now he was worthless and apparently still a liability to the emperor so he got discarded from the deck.

He had counted on the man showing some mercy if his hand wasn't forced by the other nobles. But now he realized he was a fool to think so. He stared up into those deep purple eyes seething at how easily he was played and discarded. The emperor stared back unflinchingly as if daring him to defy him further.

But Lelouch had no move left to play. He was alone on the board and already at check, nearly checkmate. He needed to survive and gather new pieces on his board but he knew he could not hope to do so here. Everyone who had power and influence was against him here. The best he could do was joining the military, win some impressive victories, and with that gain the favour of the commoners and some nobles. But he would be deprived of most resources to do so. He was confident enough that he could do it but to what end?

He would rise in court standing but would always remain unsure when the house of cards would collapse. He would go through life at gunpoint with a knife in his back that the other nobles liked to twist at their leisure. It was life and it would protect Nunnaly but it was too uncertain. His second option was to fake his death and live a life as a commoner. It was doable and more satisfying knowing he wouldn't have to put up with the whims of nobles. But what would happen when the nobles found them?

He knew that the prevailing ideology among the nobles was that they were superior to everyone and that included foreigners. And that their very refusal to follow their commands was a slight that they only tolerated for the moment. World conquest was the end game all the nobles had in mind, for different reasons but it amounted to the same thing. Some wanted more land granted to them in the new area's others wanted to exploit the new markets and a few deluded themselves into thinking they were bringing culture and civilization to those backwater countries.

The world would fall under imperial rule or the empire would fall it was one or the other there were no two ways about it and no way to change it from within. Not even assassinating the emperor would make much of a difference, now that his policies of hate were widely accepted.

Neither could he just accept it and go with the flow. He couldn't bring himself to suppress and enslave a free people. He himself was living a wretched live in a gilded cage but a cage nonetheless. He wasn't deluded enough to think he had it bad compared to the numbers but he could still sympathize.

No, he wouldn't serve his father so he needed a new master before he could strike out on his own, if he ever could that is. So who to pick?

The EU was the most powerful and in the most conflicts with the empire allowing him, enough chances to climb based on his merit in combat. They had a democratic system so if he could sway the masses he could gain power rather than be denied because he wasn't pure nobility. The problem was passing himself off as just another refugee who flooded into Europe with little more than a name. He was frankly too manicured to be believed at first glance right now but he could roughen himself up a bit to sell the story.

The real problem was climbing up from the refugee status, because Europeans for all their vaunted slogans of equality, freedom and brotherhood were still suspicious of newcomers. He would no doubt be investigated for being a spy if he showed any remarkable skill. With him being unable to successfully fake a history, they might find out he was actually a prince. That would make him a political hostage before he could prove his worth and gain allies.

The Chinese federation was no better; they just had worse refugee facilities and even worse opportunities for advancement. From what he could gather, the high eunuchs had long ago forgotten they governed for the people. The economic situation was deteriorating and most people were silently dissatisfied with the government though hopeful the empress would remedy the situation once she came off age. He had to suppress a scoff at that, her parents were their only hope and his father had successfully assassinated them, to remove that thorn from his side when he began expanding.

The empress was a figurehead no one was afraid off or respected who actually had enough power to do something in China, not entirely surprising considering she was still a baby. The empire was mostly content to let that corpse rot while they conquered the rest of the world. They figured that by the time they deigned to show up, the populace would embrace any chance for a better life even if it was under foreign rule.

Lelouch had to admit that it was a decent plan, though he would probably include some media spectacle to sway public opinion more in his favour than just grudging approval. But he supposed that Schneizel would think up something when the time came for that step, probably in ten to fifteen years from now.

So his only real option was the EU but that was a huge risk and one he couldn't take with Nunnaly in her frail condition. He sighed sometimes the better part of valour was choosing to pick your battles so he would wait until the time was ripe in the shadows.

He was startled out of his musing about his future when he heard the booming voice of his father dismissing him again. Apparently, he had missed the first one in his contemplation. He rose as gracefully as possible and strode out of the room with his head held high. It was an act to cover up the fact he had just left with his tail between his legs. He stubbornly ignored the quiet snickers of the nobles at his expense. He risked one backwards glance over his shoulders to gauge the reaction in the room. He needed to memorize the political landscape in case there were any opportunities to exploit to regain some standing.

His gaze raked over the pretentious fools and only found barely contained sadistic glee at his misfortune with the notable exception of the emperor. The bastard had the nerve to look indifferent, so he wouldn't give away any weaknesses to his loyal subjects.

As he suspected the only allies, he could expect to find here were Ruben Ashford and his sister Cornelia. Schneizel had been present but notably silent when the judgement to use him as a political hostage was presented. That either meant he wasn't going to help him or only do so later on in smaller ways or until he proved himself worthy of the aid.

There was no way he could rely on any of them. Cornelia wasn't well versed in court politics, Ruben was practically ruined and he wasn't willing to dance to the whims of his older brother. Well that was a lie, he was willing. He just couldn't prove himself worthy in any conceivable way while in Japan.

With a sigh, he walked out of the throne room pondering his future and how he needed to adjust his contingency plans.

* * *

**Author note**

The cover image is created by Deto15 on minitokyo and the original art is from Takahiro Kimura.

i also want to thank my new beta Lord Darkly for making this story more readable.


	2. Stay in Japan

**A/N My apologies to those who followed, but I needed to split the chapter up because it was too long. So no new content for now. **

**Japan**

**Tokyo Airport**

Lelouch had a fierce scowl on his face as he walked out of the plane towards the Kururugi family. He had investigated them as much as he could and his judgement was that they were a stern family but beneath the cold shell, they still cared about other people. So long as he followed their traditions and principles, he could be sure of at least mediocre hospitality. Their honour didn't allow them to mistreat them severely but he doubted they were above petty slights. He hoped that by being humble he could have a pleasant stay here for his sister's sake.

However, that didn't mean he had to be happy about this. These people were the very embodiment of the punishment his father gave him for being weak. He waited next to the exit while the maid pushed his sister's wheelchair alongside him.

As soon as he was within her sight, he automatically replaced his scowl with a kind and gentle face. He knew she couldn't see it anymore but he couldn't suppress years of habit, that easily and in any case it was rather fortunate because it allowed him to fake being pleasant to these people more convincingly.

"How are you feeling big brother?" asked his sister in concern knowingly

She had been a witness to his silent tirade about their fate as hostages. He hadn't done much more than pacing around and glaring at the staff but that was more than enough to tell his sister just how much he hated this.

"I'll manage." He admitted "But the important part is to make a good impression so we need to be on our best behaviour." Lelouch needlessly advised they both already knew that. Besides Nunnally's natural personality would endear more people to her than Lelouch's most ingenious scheme.

"Well in that case you might want to wipe that frown off your face before they get close enough to actually see it." Nunnaly lightly suggested

Lelouch grinned at that" Very well sir." He quipped

"At ease private, no need to intimidate the locals."

The little childhood game did wonders in soothing his temper and by the time he reached, the Kururugi's he was the very picture of charm and humility. He didn't like to pretend to be humble but these people were fed up with all the pompous idiots they normally had to deal with. So it was best to set himself as far apart from them as possible. In his opinion, he was worlds apart, but if he showed any arrogance, they would probably throw him in the same mould and never look back.

He bowed deeply to the prime minister in greeting "Thank you for your gracious welcome Prime Minister Kururugi."

Through his bangs he could see the prime minister slightly frowning at him, either he was displeased with something he did or because he couldn't figure out how to deal with a polite Britannian. Lelouch had to admit the experience would be novel to anybody because they simply didn't exist, unless forced to, and that wasn't true politeness.

And he was no different; the only reason why he was being polite was to ensure his survival. For the duration of his stay here, his freedom was determined by his hosts. He needed his freedom to prepare for his survival. So he needed their generosity and goodwill.

Prime Minister Kururugi grudgingly matched the depth of his bow. Lelouch belatedly realized his mistake. He had bowed deeply to be polite but for the prime minister to give a shallow bow in return would be a slight and to slight Britannia in the current volatile situation was foolish. The prime minister had intended to match him but he hadn't wanted to give such a deep bow. Firstly because he didn't have the respect it represented for Britannia and secondly because of his bad back.

Judging by the grimace on the stern man's face, he had to be in excruciating pain to prevent a diplomatic scandal. But worse was the narrowing of the eyes that indicated he perceived his show of respect as a subtle attack.

He gratefully accepted the escape to be introduced to his minister of foreign relations and numerous others though only the captain of industry Kirihara Taizou made a lasting impression. This was mostly because Kirihara had a monopoly in the fledgling sakuradite mining industry.

He had to try to befriend Kirihara if he wanted to try to wring some more concessions out of the Japanese to stall for more time or alternatively if he wanted to obtain more bargaining chips in the future.

He wasn't sure how long he could stay in Japan but he didn't think this stopgap measure would stop his father for long before he invaded Japan. The Japanese government hadn't been very compromising when his father demanded more Sakuradite be shipped to the empire. Sure, he was willing to pay more but their religious objections about not wanting to violate the holy Mount Fuji put them at odds with each other. Neither of them looked likely to back down and the inevitable showdown was only a matter of time.

Britannia needed that Sakuradite to fuel their war machine to conquer the world. Without it, they couldn't field nearly as many of their knightmare frames. They wouldn't want to wait long either with the technological advantage only temporarily theirs. If they waited too long the other countries could catch up or develop countermeasures. No he only had a few months to stay here at best before he was given his roll call for his performance to the world.

But he had no intention of getting killed in the confusion during the invasion. He was quite sure that his Japanese hosts would kill him then in a fit of anger or his father would do it for them. His best bet was finding a third party who he could trade favours with to keep him and his sister safe.

He exchanged some more pleasantries with the minister and was soon escorted into a limo with a girl slightly younger than him named Sumeragi Kaguya.

"So prince Lelouch how are you finding Japan so far?" asked Kaguya politely

That was a bit more articulate than he would have expected from a eight year old but he supposed that she had to grow up fast with her father's failing health. According to his research, he would only have a few more years to live and would undoubtedly die before Kaguya reached her eighteenth birthday. A mountain of responsibilities would be trusted upon her so he supposed she had to learn fast while clinging to as much of her childhood innocence as possible.

"Pretty good but I haven't experienced the legendary summer heat yet" he replied

He based that comment on the sport mangas he read that were about baseball and the Koushien tournament in the summer. He had no clue how hot it really got other than some numbers from a weather report that didn't mean much to him.

Kaguya smiled "Oh I didn't think you played baseball." guessing correctly where he got the titbit from

"I see the rumours of my physical ineptness precede Me." joked Lelouch trying to put the girl at ease with him

"Don't be too hard on yourself, I hear you more than make up for it in chess."

"Well I'm not too shabby if I say so myself. " Lelouch admitted humbly "Do you play Kaguya?"

"Only a little but maybe you can teach me?"

It was probably an insincere offer to break the ice that counted on his well-known obsession with the game. But he wasn't about to look a gift horse in the mouth.

"I would be delighted and maybe you can teach me shogi. I hear it's even more challenging than chess."

He had no real interest in learning to play shogi either but it would show a flexibility of personality and culture to the Japanese. If he showed he wasn't convinced that everything Britannian was automatically better than foreign things, he might actually make some friends.

Across from him sat Kururugi Suzaku who scoffed at his reply. "I doubt you actually care about shogi."

Immediately Lelouch wondered if he was really being that obvious that a brat could figure him out. "You didn't address me by my title" observed Lelouch in interest wondering if there was a hidden meaning behind it

"I'm sorry your highness" Suzaku retorted sarcastically

So that was it then, some petty teenage antagonism and prejudice against the royal family. Well that was perfectly understandable and not too hard to deal with. "Don't be, I was merely making an observation. You can tell a lot about a man in how he addresses those around him. "Lelouch appeased him easily because he tended to agree with him about the royal family.

"Oh and what does your actions say about you then? You were perfectly modest and gracious; does that mean you're a kind person or really a twofaced snake?"

Kaguya looked uncomfortable with Suzaku calling him out but was intrigued nonetheless so wouldn't put a stop to it. So Lelouch had to answer but he didn't have an answer to that question because it was one he was struggling with himself. He was certainly acting when he greeted them but he still thought he was a kind person despite him silently resenting them for being his prison before his execution.

"Can't I be both?" he asked to stall and to measure the sense of morality of the man sitting in front of him.

"Of course not! One excludes the other. Any kind of duplicity inevitably hurts someone and is thus by its very nature evil." Suzaku immediately countered.

Hmm an idealist then? He hadn't expected someone to be concerned with the philosophy of right and wrong at this age. But this certainly put him in a bind because any answer that didn't parrot what he just said would antagonize the boy. But he couldn't fake his personality enough for the rest of his stay and the proven deceit in trying to come across as an honest person would be worse than just owning up to it now.

So the question was how important was Kururugi Suzaku that he had to stay friendly with him, to the point of compromising on his own beliefs? At least for the short term, he doubted it would matter much before the year was out.

n the end he decided he had more important things to worry about than one boy's hurt feelings and views of right and wrong.

Lelouch shrugged " So by your very own admission your own father and by extension your government is evil then Suzaku?" he misdirected.

"What are you talking about?" asked a surprised Suzaku

"Oh you haven't heard your father has been leading Britannia on for quite some time. He grudgingly agrees with increasing the amount of Sakuradite shipped to Britannia. But then makes excuses a few weeks later that he can't make the quota because of civilian protests. While we receive reports that the Chinese federation received Sakuradite shipments in trade for metals." revealed Lelouch casually

He shouldn't have given away state secrets like that but he didn't care. He was already scheduled for execution anyway. It wasn't as if they were going to do anything worse to him, other than perhaps move the date up.

Suzaku looked angry about him accusing his father as a liar" You're just making that up and even if it was true. Britannia doesn't own Japan we have the freedom to trade with whomever we want."

Lelouch smiled as he fell into his trap" You certainly do, but you also have to honour the trade agreements already made. So by ignoring them isn't your father being duplicitous and therefore evil?" Lelouch goaded

Suzaku seemed to completely forget about whether or not Lelouch was a liar and focused solely on clearing his father's good name. Lelouch sat back and calmly refuted his arguments on logic or allowed them as the case may be. Right now Suzaku was an enraged bull he was leading by the horns.

Eventually he would calm down and then maybe get over it and they could try again at being friends. Though he still didn't see why he had to.

* * *

**Kururugi Shrine**

**Nine months later**

Lelouch watched as Suzaku talked pleasantly with Nunnaly after his kendo lesson. He hadn't thought it would happen at first but somehow the Japanese boy had grown on him. Perhaps the ability to speak his mind freely compared to his usual yes-men endeared him somehow. He never felt those were true friends despite what his siblings may think. He firmly believed a true friend would call you an idiot from time to time. Even Jeremiah subtly and hesitantly questioned his decision when he dismissed Cornelia and Schneizel's help. Though he hadn't taken his advice at the time, he did appreciate him not telling Cornelia about his rather low opinion of her political skills.

Cornelia always had a bit of a temper so there was no way she could have stayed quiet about it for this long. Which meant she simply didn't know about it, there was no other option.

Which just proved his theory; true friends criticized you in private but had your back when it counted.

Of course, to every rule there was an exception because Andreas Darlton was the typical yes man, but he was so fanatically loyal to Cornelia that he would gladly die for her. He even heard rumours that he wanted to put his adopted sons through military training after they showed potential to better serve Cornelia.

Suzaku still had some reservations with him personally but he absolutely loved Nunnaly and would protect her when push came to shove. He could count on him speaking up if his father decided to kill them when war with Britannia was inevitable. No wait scratch that, it was already inevitable make that imminent.

He looked back at his business paper to gloat some more. The news hadn't had a clue what was going on at first but they seemed to be catching on now. But by his estimation by the time they put all the pieces together, it shouldn't matter anymore.

"What's that you're reading prince Lelouch?" came a voice from behind

He looked over his shoulder and saw Kaguya standing there. She had been visiting frequently in the past few months. To create a bond with her fiancé Kururugi Suzaku and play with Nunnaly.

"Oh just checking the stock reports in Britannia. " Lelouch casually and truthfully replied seeing as there was no need to lie.

"Why, I hear they are dreadfully boring?" Kaguya innocently questioned

Though Lelouch didn't fully buy it, Kaguya would soon control her vast Sumeragi estate so a basic grasp of the trends in the current market was crucial for her. He had no doubt that her private teacher would read them to her and simplify them in terms she could understand. She wouldn't need to understand them but following them for a time would give her greater confidence when she suddenly had to make decisions about them. So therefore she should have first hand experience of how boring they were, meaning she was lying but why?

Thinking it over he decided she simply wanted to keep the conversation light and had no real ulterior motive.

Lelouch shrugged" There has been a minor economic dip in total output in Britannia so as a prince I need to stay up to date on what is happening. As a foreign dignitary I might be asked to comment on the situation even if I'm only a child."

Kaguya giggled at that "I doubt the media would want the opinion of a ten year old kid on the economy."

Lelouch smiled back at her "True it sounds rather ridiculous but Britannia is obsessed with their nobility. You might be too young to remember it but Schneizel wasn't much older than me when he started giving interviews to the press."

Kaguya frowned at that" You mean he was in the spotlight since he was a teenager?"

Hmm she seemed concerned what the spotlight could do to someone's psyche, which was an understandable concern. He had heard horror stories from the teen idols from the entertainment sector. In a sense, they weren't so different from one another, so the same thing that happened to them could happen to him and in a way already happened to his siblings

"Well normally the royal family tries to shield its children until they are at least of age but his prowess was so remarkable that word got out to the press and Schneizel's mother caved and tried to take advantage of it."

"So he is a victim of his own success huh?" summarized Kaguya

Hmm he hadn't quite seen it like that before but he supposed she was right. Maybe there had been more to his comment when he said that he was a prodigy but could never emulate his mother? Did he mean he was forced into the spotlight and have his every action scrutinized just like his mother?

His mother despite claims to the contrary was never a gold digger but genuinely loved his father for some odd reason. So they both were unwilling victims of their own success, one for his strategic brilliance and the other for her tactical greatness.

"Good point Kaguya. I never really thought about it like that. I guess there was a whole side to my older brother I never really saw." Lelouch admitted

Kaguya chuckled "You really need to spend more time with your family, if strangers can tell you more about them than yourself."

Lelouch smiled at her joke that further proved that she was finally comfortable enough with him to mock him.

"Hey you try hanging out with them for a day and see how you like it." He retorted good-naturedly

Kaguya grimaced "I'll pass thank you very much. I saw that news special about the tantrum your elder sister Guinevere threw at the fashion show in Milan"

"Yes, rather unsightly wasn't it."

Guinevere had actually thrown a fit about not getting the newest dress shown on the catwalk in her size within a week. She completely ignored the fact it was a one of a kind creation and that it had to be made from scratch, but simply demanded it and expected to receive it, from a hostile nation no less.

Relationships with the EU had deteriorated a bit because the news had a field day broadcasting that image to every corner of Europe. Schneizel had to go into diplomatic overdrive to sooth the European people. They had been planning to declare war within the month from what he gathered but with this public debacle that plan was put on the backburner for now to prevent the EU from joining in. He almost wanted to send his sister a thank you card if he didn't already hate her guts.

On the plus side, though with Schneizel's superb handling off it, his chance of becoming the next prime minister vastly increased. Which would put him into pole position for when the race for the next emperor began in earnest. Out of all the siblings he wanted to become emperor he wanted it to it to become Schneizel with Euphie as a close second.

Cornelia had the skill but her large focus on the military left large gaps on the civilian side meaning the empire would rot from the inside. She inspired loyalty and rooted out corruption with an iron fist whenever she saw it but she couldn't deal with basic ineptitude well. She would crack her whip at them but only antagonize her bureaucrats in the long-term. She just didn't seem to realize you couldn't treat bureaucrats the same as professional soldiers. If she became empress, Britannia's government would become entirely controlled by the military.

He had no doubt domestic issues would arise and force her hand to suppress them. And the military suppression would lead to revolts happening everywhere. Luckily, she realized it herself from the few conversations he had with her in the past and wasn't seriously considering taking the throne but wouldn't take herself out of the running. Which he thanked her for because that would leave the door open for far greater evils, like his other siblings.

But back to Euphie, she didn't have the skill or the brains (at least not yet) from what he could tell but her heart was in the right place. So with some trusted and skilled advisors she would make a fine empress. Most likely, a mediocre one but a fine seat warmer until someone more skilled came along to continue her work. The most important thing Euphie would accomplish would be breaking up the culture of hatred pervading Britannian society, leaving the way open for more moderate thinkers.

But only Schneizel could truly change things within his own rule but that was if he wanted to? Lelouch never understood his brother and now it seemed even strangers did a better job at it than he did.

Kaguya tapped him on the shoulder" You were about to explain what was so interesting about the Britannian stocks."

Though she said it in her normal carefree voice, he could see the hint of interest in her eyes. There really was more to Kaguya than met the eye. She played down people's expectations of her masterfully. He would have written her off as a silly little girl if he hadn't been cooped up with her in one house.

"Well the interesting part is that the knightmare industry has taken a rather large hit or rather the investors associated with It." said Lelouch

"Hmm I heard about that but it was played off as nothing more than some jumpy investors worrying about nothing." Kaguya recited from the news

"Well in essence that is correct, but it's the timing of it that's interesting." Lelouch pointed out

"What's so interesting about it?" asked Kaguya her gaze now firmly riveted on him.

It seemed she dropped her pretence of being a silly little girl at the prospect of digging up a juicy morsel of information that might help her country. She was good, but it was nice to know she wasn't infallible.

He indulged her" I'm sure you know of the rising tensions between Japan and Britannia." He prodded

She nodded her head though it really went without saying but for clarity's sake, he checked anyway.

"Right now both Japan and Britannia are in a secret arms build up." Kaguya's eyes widened minutely so either she didn't think he knew about Japan or she didn't think he would tell her about Britannia.

"This dip was caused by someone shorting the stocks of the Ashford foundation. But that could only be done with someone with inside information who knew they were going to fall. Information that was restricted to the royal family and the highest ranking nobles."

"I see so they are worried about a leak in their command structure more than anything else which would cause hesitation before they committed to any large actions." Kaguya realized and then the penny dropped, for what that meant for Japan. He had some fun looking at her awestruck face when she realized that it would postpone the attack on Japan for a few months at least.

Lelouch pressed" But that's not all, the Ashford foundation was the leading company in knightmare production so their sudden fall from grace has disrupted investor confidence in the market. It would have been fine if someone hadn't taken so much advantage of it, but because of that, other investors are a bit hesitant in investing in it. They are waiting for the other shoe to drop while the emperor is impatient for results, meaning he will invest more heavily personally, causing the national debt to skyrocket"

"True but it won't bankrupt Britannia by any stretch off the imagination." Kaguya said wistfully

"Indeed but it wasn't intended to, the increased debt can't be paid off with a war in progress so the interest will pile up."

Kaguya gave him a sharp look when he said 'intended' but didn't question it. He didn't expect her to either. She wouldn't press him now and risk him clamming up. She couldn't interrogate him when he was still a foreign dignitary so she would only gently ask him at worst. But the seed had been planted that he was the mastermind and anti-Britannia. If he ever needed help in Japan in a few years, he might look towards Kaguya when she took over the Sumeragi concern.

"Ne Lelouch isn't the Ashford foundation controlled by the Ashfords who are loyal to the VI Britannia line." She asked in a tone of voice that sounded as clueless as she could manage.

"They are." He replied simply, no need to come right out and say it. It was better for her to put the pieces together herself or slowly drag them out of him.

"Then shouldn't you have known that they would fall from grace?" She pressed

"Indeed I did, but what are you getting at Kaguya?" He acted innocently though both knew better by now.

"So do you have any idea who could be behind it?" she continued in a gossiping schoolgirl fashion though she didn't seem particularly interested in his answer anymore. Apparently, she thought he wasn't going to say more on the issue and she already had her answer

She was right off course" I have no idea." shrugged Lelouch "It could have been anyone, all those nobles look alike to me." He chuckled

"True they all dress the same in their flamboyant colours but you seem rather dour in your choice of wardrobe." She smoothly changed the subject now that he had said what he wanted and she didn't want to risk scaring him off.

Lelouch followed her gambit, grateful for her focus on the long game "Hey what can I say; black is a very functional colour. And besides I think it suits me" In more ways than one, after his father proclaimed him to be dead to him the moment he was born. He thought he should dress the part by wearing the funeral colour. It was a twisted joke that amused him while he waited for his second death.

Kaguya giggled at that "More than you think Lelouch; I overheard the maids calling you their little black prince"

"Hey I'm not little!" He argued back though he knew he was, but he had to keep up some pretence he was a normal kid.

"Well at least you make up for it in physical prowess." teased Kaguya as she pinched his biceps to underline her point.

"We can't all be fitness nuts like Suzaku." grumbled Lelouch good-naturedly

* * *

**Kururugi Shrine**

**August eight 2010 Ascension Throne Britannia**

**The day Japan was invaded**

Lelouch was lying on a hill a short ways away from the Kururugi shrine cursing yet again the day Tohdoh was born. He had asked his sadistic teacher if he could perhaps explain to him the basics of martial arts. What he got was gruelling training session after session only interspersed with pure torture, aka exercise. The bastard only gave out measly scraps of advice hidden in a huge mountain of words that made up the bushido philosophy, which he didn't give a crap about.

Heck, he didn't give a crap about any fighting philosophy that entertained the thought of a fair fight. He adhered to the philosophy that if you found yourself in a fair fight you didn't plan properly.

He supposed kendo could help, if the skill translated to knightmares but he doubted it. Mostly because he was swinging a stick around and a knightmare was controlled by a joystick. At most, it would help with situational awareness and improvising on the spot.

So yeah okay he saw the point but did he have to do squats until his legs gave out, granted it only took fifteen minutes but still. When he got his knightmare, he was going to focus on long-range support anyway. He was going to be much more comfortable in a gun range practicing his skill than this. Mostly because it involved a lot of standing around and careful concentration, now that sounded like something more up his alley.

His body ached all over but he supposed it was going to be worth it in the long run. He had entertained some ideas of getting a custom weapon like a kusarigama but when he heard how long it took to master it. He gave up before he even got started. Tohdoh had been immensely disappointed but he only wanted to learn because he thought it might translate to slash harkens.

He didn't care about mastering the weapon itself; he just wanted a trump card up his sleeve. Really was that too much to ask, well apparently it was because Tohdoh had been insulted at the very thought.

As a result, he had been sentenced to running five hundred laps around the shrine and he had to be done before Tohdoh got back from his meeting in Tokyo. Luckily, for him Tohdoh couldn't actually see him do it. But unluckily for him Suzaku was such a stickler for the rules that he was watching him like a hawk, so he didn't cheat.

Sometimes he wondered why they were friends again. He noticed a strange sound and glanced up at the sky. He didn't identify it until it was too late and the Kururugi shrine went up in flames.

His first thought was NUNNALY!

He stared despondently for a while at the wreck that used to be his home/prison. Before he calmed down with the realization that Nunnaly had been out in the gardens. Despite being blind, she still enjoyed nature and was fond of just sitting there and listening to the birds chirp.

With his heartbeat, calming down he looked around and spotted Suzaku in a similar state. He had been shocked speechless as well but was coming around the same as him. He started to think about the likely whereabouts of the other residents of the Kururugi shrine. And he came to the sobering conclusion that only Suzaku, Nunnaly and him were outside of the building when the bomb went off. This left them essentially alone in the middle of a war zone.

Lelouch held no delusions about his odds of surviving the invasion. Kids normally had little chance but with him being Britannian, the Japanese would be hostile towards him. So that ruled out any aid there but the same went for the Britannian soldiers who might just not care, caught up in their bloodlust. Though the possibility of being taken into their custody and transported to a safe zone was no more appealing. It would only be a matter of time before high command found out about them and have them killed all the same.

After all that bomb had been intending to kill them during the opening strike of the war. He had honestly expected to receive some kind of warning before there was an attempt on his life. He hadn't thought the Japanese so incompetent to be taken unaware enough, that a bomber could fly in undetected even if it wasn't in a highly populated area. This was the residence of the prime minister so the skies above had to be monitored. So that meant that they were being overwhelmed and simply couldn't scramble a response in time.

This meant the invasion was already going on in full force but they just forgot to inform them and the news hadn't reported it. Or maybe it did, he had no way of knowing in this godforsaken shrine in the middle of nowhere. The news was severely restricted here and he thought his hosts did it on purpose to keep him from any sensitive information.

He would normally have applauded their effort and try to calmly navigate around it but now he was cursing their prudence. He ran over towards where he had last seen Nunnaly and prayed she was alright, and off less concern but still important that her wheelchair was still intact.

He had sown his emergency plan into the lining of her chair after all, so it would be disastrous if it was still in the house. He had done it on purpose so he wouldn't have to waste time looking for it during an emergency when he had to find his most precious person. He also didn't have to worry about his hosts taking it away from him unintentionally, because no one deprives a blind crippled girl from her wheel chair.

As he ran, he looked towards the place that had been more of a home to him than the imperial palace had ever been, crumbling to the ground. His room was already a ruin, if his hard drives had been hidden underneath the floorboards. They would now be broken and useless in his plan.

The timetable for everything had been moved up, that bomb was deliberate. Britannian planes may not have much accuracy but this shrine was out off the way in the countryside. Normally air raids focused more on destroying key infrastructure, meaning the bigger cities rather than some symbolic shrine.

They didn't try to kill the prime minister either, because he should be at the Tokyo city hall in Shinjuku now and Britannia knew it, no that bomb was meant for him and his sister.

He had to move, there was no telling if the airplanes would come back and do a carpet-bombing to make sure they got him. He doubted the pilots were given specific orders to kill members of the royal family or they would be killed afterwards when they tied up loose ends.

Anyone with a brain would go to the foreign press right away to blackmail the royal family in order to save their own life. But against the crown it was useless, the emperor was right because might was right. He didn't know whether to hope the pilot was ignorant, so his life was saved. Or aware so at least he had the satisfaction to know his would-be killer would soon be dead.

"Lelouch is that you? Called out Nunnaly as she heard his laboured approach. His ragged breath was a dead giveaway that it was him but with the explosion, she must be panicking.

"Yes it's me Nunnally. Don't worry I'm here now and will make sure nothing happens to you." He tried to reassure her despite the hollowness of his words. This was the one part of his plan he couldn't plan out because he didn't have anyone reliable around or enough information. The only one he might count on was Suzaku but he was still staring in shock at his ancestral home. The realization that Britannians were invading must be hitting him. He had built a solid friendship with Suzaku over the last couple of months thanks to Nunnaly, but could it survive this betrayal from his country?

He couldn't dwell on it long though. He needed to get moving in case ground troops came to investigate the bombsite to verify the kills. But he couldn't just leave, he wanted to loot the shrine first, he needed resources. He needed food, money, weapons and survival gear.

He quickly reassured his sister and ran into the ruin and grabbed the wooden panel of the paper doors. He broke it off its hinges and dragged it to the kitchen and pantry. He loaded as much food as possible in bags and tied them to the wooden frame.

He then searched the debris and grabbed the ceremonial weapons. Lelouch got lucky; he found a gun in the wrecked prime ministers desk. Lelouch regretted not finding out what the combination for the safe was while he stuffed everything valuable into his pockets and backpack.

He then ran back to fetch his sister. He gave her a quick explanation as he pushed her into the shrine towards the kitchen. He was going to tie the improvised sled with all the food to the wheelchair to make it easier to carry.

"Lelouch what are you doing?" questioned Suzaku now that he had finally come to terms with things. But the tone of his voice wasn't hostile, yet. But he was confused which he could work with.

"Those were Britannian airplanes and with the prime minister at work, this means they tried to kill me and Nunnaly specifically. We are in the middle of nowhere; there are no other targets here. "Lelouch stated bluntly, he had no time to break things gently. And besides he needed Suzaku to form a specific us versus them mentality where he was included in the us.

Suzaku seemed to process the level of betrayal he had just suffered from his own family and thanks to that firmly cemented him in the friend or at least allies category. Though he didn't seem quite convinced, his family would want him dead.

"They could have been trying to kill me." Suzaku offered feebly in disbelief

It was funny that such morbid thoughts were actually supposed to cheer him up "No offence but you're just a kid. You might become a rallying point for a future rebellion but right now, you are no threat. They can just kill you later at their leisure."

Suzaku nodded numbly in acceptance at his own worth and accepted the fact that the royal family had tried to kill Lelouch.

"Suzaku we have to go before any soldiers come checking for survivors."

Luckily, this prompted the training Tohdoh rammed into him to emerge to the forefront. "Right, let's get going." he grabbed Lelouch's arm and started pulling him away from the house.

"We need supplies to last the war, you idiot! So help me tie this stuff to this makeshift sled." Lelouch reprimanded gesturing towards the wooden contraption attached to Nunnaly's wheelchair. Apparently, Tohdoh never got around to basic tactics, only honour code and fighting moves.

Suzaku complied and with his help it went a lot faster but it still took a precious hour before they were packed and ready to go.

He gambled on Special Forces not being able to remain undetected before the air strike and regular forces would still have to land. Lelouch quickly pushed his sister into the nearby forest with Suzaku trailing behind. Lelouch had secured a good amount of food and weapons to defend him and his sister. But he was still only a novice. He could not hope to hold his own against trained soldiers or desperate civilians twice his size.

He gave the gun to Nunnaly despite her protests.

It may have seemed retarded to give a gun to a blind person. But he did not care about innocent bystanders getting shot, so long as his sister was safe. And she could not wield a sword effectively, which left him with the firearm solution.

Nunnaly had good hearing, so she would know where he was by the sound of his voice and anyone else was open season. She didn't like it but after some convincing, she accepted it to ease his anxiety for his sake.

They hid in the forest while he thought off a plan. He could not go into the cities as anti-Britannia sentiment would be higher than ever. Lelouch would get lynched by a mob in retaliation for the crimes of Britannia. Lelouch resented the very notion of dying a martyr for Britannia. He hated Britannia, he hated the emperor and his ideology and he would destroy it all if given the chance. To be used as a symbol to embolden their troops and to justify their horrors was more than he could stomach.

But he was back to check almost checkmate on the board. He was alone with no pieces on the board and surrounded on all sides. This was becoming way too repetitive; it seemed fate liked toying with him. He decided to weather out the storm for now. He could not escape Japan because all territorial waters would be monitored and most ships would be fired upon by either Britannian or Japanese warships, if they did not provide identification to either faction.

Lelouch sadly had neither nor could he fake it. So smuggling them out of the country was impossible at this stage. Even if he did manage it, without some plan he would end up lost in the sea of refugees. He doubted he would get access to a foreign country and end up in a holding camp almost indefinitely. Once there he would be hard pressed to negotiate from a position of strength.

He would be sucked dry of his resources and then thrown back to the wolves. No, he needed to find his allies first who could back him up, who would take him seriously and by extension make his opposing negotiators take him seriously. Lelouch needed to find the Ashfords; he knew they were sent here as well, in disgrace. They were his only lifeline other than the lawyers in Tokyo city. But he doubted he could reach them nor get them to believe he was Mr Lamperouge. Luckily, he did not need to; his plan would be set into motion whether he wanted to or not now. There was no way he could stop it, not that he wanted to.


	3. Crisis in the Homeland

**Pendragon Imperial Palace**

**Cornelia's pov**

Cornelia stormed through the door "Schneizel you'd better have a damn good reason for recalling me or so help me god!"

Schneizel was unfazed and merely weathered her tirade until she lost some steam. "I wouldn't have pulled you away from your quest to find Nunnaly and Lelouch if it wasn't dire Cornelia. I presume you have heard of our recent economic woes."

Cornelia finished catching her breath and grudgingly acknowledged, "Yes I heard. Something about how the average indicator plummeted and everyone panicked and started selling like no tomorrow and it caused a chained effect. It's basically the same thing that happens when people start fleeing from the battlefield. Once enough people do it, then everyone starts doing it causing a massive rout and a loss when a victory could have still been possible if people just had the courage to keep on fighting."

Schneizel was silent for a moment as he evaluated her and her answer "That is a pretty good explanation of recent events Cornelia. However, allow me to elaborate, our economy is too large for a single man to make sense off. So we make averages, totals and other indicators to tell us how we are doing.

However, there is no clear-cut solution to economic problems that is undeniably the best instead; it is a matter of opinion. So my job is to provide a compelling narrative that the market and the public can get behind while still fulfilling the goals set by our father. Confidence in the market and the government may be nothing more than smoke and mirrors but without it, the economy would crash down around us. Everything only has value because we believe it does and in the last few weeks that confidence has taken a serious beating."

Cornelia gave him a look that said get to the fucking point!

Schneizel sighed at her impatience "The problem is that companies started selling their shares in large quantities all at once which reflected badly on the rest of the economy. So once the negative figures spread, panic did as well and people started selling before their loss became bigger. "

Schneizel chuckled at some joke she didn't get "The fun thing about owning stock is the unrealized gains and losses. You can be a millionaire on paper but only on paper, and that can change overnight. So people automatically sell once their stock prices drop below a certain level, which puts too much pressure on it and the price falls even further. But those stocks also influenced derivatives which dropped accordingly and no one knew exactly how far it spread so they amputated rather than risk it which caused complications."

"As I said a massive rout." reiterated Cornelia who didn't care about the specifics so long as she understood the broad lines. She never got her brother's fascination with economics; half of it was incomprehensible numbers and the rest inexplicable psychology. If you wanted to, you could argue two completely opposite policies as the best solution and still be logically sound.

She was only interested in the bottom line for when she had to consider whether her collateral losses were acceptable from an economic standpoint.

Schneizel did not seem insulted by her rude interruption and smiled more brightly at her "Well let's continue your analogy then, the army routed and the general gave a speech to rally his men. The emperor would have succeeded in calming down his men but as soon as he finished speaking, dissenters immediately undermined him. Or in our case information flooded in on all the weaknesses every Britannian company has, causing consumer and investor confidence to fall into the gutter"

Cornelia frowned, if it was a problem of morale then just silence the trouble makers and distract the troops or focus their attention on something productive." Then just bribe the media to twist things to your advantage to convince the people everything's fine if it is merely a problem of morale." Cornelia countered still not seeing why she had been called back when economics wasn't her strong suit.

Schneizel turned his back on her, walked towards his desk, and took a seat. "We already are, but economics doesn't quite work like that. Once everyone expects things to go downhill, it will go downhill and becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy. It is hard to convince people to have confidence, because they will lose all their money if your words are merely empty."

"Like telling your men to stand and fight when they are the only ones left and their comrades fled the battle already," agreed Cornelia

"Indeed a plea most likely to fall on deaf ears and even now mass bank runs are taking place. The people are trying to get their money out before the banks freeze their accounts or go bankrupt"

An alarm bell suddenly rang in Cornelia's head when she remembered one of the more puzzling things she ever learned about economics and banks in particular" Don't the banks keep less capital on hand than they actually loan out?"

"They do." admitted Schneizel and then took a sip of wine still looking the very essence of serenity "Meaning they can't survive if people withdraw their money."

"So what do you want me to do about it?" asked Cornelia to get to the reason why she was here. She could quash a riot if it came to that but economics wasn't her speciality.

"Someone has been using this crisis to buy precious metals at bargain prices. We wouldn't have cared if they weren't a key component along with sakuradite for building knightmare frames. In order to protect our production capability of knightmares in the future, we bought up the supply ourselves. But it's a costly measure, meaning we want you to figure out who is doing it." Schneizel calmly explained while he rifled through some paperwork to give some kind of report to her.

"You called me back from the front lines just to play detective!" Cornelia asked scathingly" Don't you have someone more qualified to do that! "

Schneizel nodded "We do and they will be running point, you just have to figurehead it to appease the nobles."

Cornelia had a premonition that she was going to have a lot of headaches in the near future" Why do I need to appease the nobles?" she asked perfunctorily

There didn't need to be a specific reason, as heir to the throne half her duty consisted of entertaining and reassuring the nobility in one way or another. She preferred just ordering them about and demanding results but her brusque manner had a cost that she knew Clovis and Schneizel paid for her.

So it was only fair that she paid them back occasionally or picked up her fair share of it when Schneizel was shorthanded. But she was interested in why he was shorthanded when he normally effortlessly balanced interests even if they were completely opposed to one another.

Schneizel smiled knowingly at her attitude, no doubt remembering one of her dealings with foolish nobles. "I'll get to that in a minute Cornelia, bear with me. The emperor also decided to nationalize key companies to stabilize the economy and to increase his power now that prices are low. But word spread of our intervention in the metal market and now every industry wants a government bail out instead of a buyout. The companies' stocks are controlled by the nobles, so they are the ones who are clamouring for government hand outs"

She really wished that commoners had the capital to buy stocks so she could deal with them rather than the smug nobles. Spoilt brats who just had their toys taken away from them guaranteed a headache for her. "So I need to scare them into submission or something?"

"It is a crude method but right now we need to impose order to prevent further panic. Because of this, every royal is being conscripted to pay lip service to the nobility. While we're doing that, I'll also be spearheading a financial reform that will allow commoners to buy stock as well. The influx of new capital might put the stock market back on track."

This surprised Cornelia because it violated one of the nobility's unofficial privileges. Though it wasn't law that only nobles could become stockholders, the reality was that no one else could cough up the hundred thousand pound minimum buy in. This meant that the majority of the stockholders were the nobility and only they were affected by the stock market downturn for now.

"That will also permanently remove power from the nobility brother. They won't like this and will resist that bill heavily." warned Cornelia

After all the nobility didn't hold power by just the virtue of their titles alone, but backed it up with money. Money they earned by investing in several ventures and collected interest on over the centuries.

Schneizel shrugged nonchalantly "I know but I need something to quiet them down. If I present them with a reasonable solution and they still don't like it, then I can convince them to take the loss with dignity."

Cornelia smiled at the simple brilliance of Schneizel's plan. He was going to publicly present the financial reform as a carrot while every noble would view it as a stick. They couldn't openly protest it or risk public disapproval so they had no choice but to downplay their problems and continue business as usual.

The nobles looked down on commoners but they weren't stupid enough to voice it in the media and damage their company's image. It would mean millions of losses easily, so someone had to step forward and take the hit for the team. But if Schneizel could keep them disorganized and divided then they might even collect some under the table bribes to have the financial reform bogged down and forgotten. The bribes would go a long way towards repaying some of the debts incurred nationalizing companies while simultaneously being thanked by all parties for the quick solution to the national crises.

"So you intend to manipulate them into compliance and you need us to help because you can't be everywhere at once and the success of your plan hinges on how many you can convince in a short amount of time."

Schneizel smiled at her "Indeed this is all about momentum."

True everyone had to be thinking the same thing at the same time to reinforce the message or this thing wouldn't even get off the ground. If enough nobles realized they were all against the reform and didn't just hear the mandatory lip service to ingratiate themselves with royalty than they might broker a deal that they would cover the losses of their spokesperson.

It was no different than forcing a general to surrender after a demoralizing defeat before he realized his troops still wanted to keep on fighting.

"But that doesn't explain why I had to bring my most trusted subordinates back with me? I could have left Darlton in charge to continue the search without me."

At this Schneizel's composure broke for a fraction of a second. Cornelia could have sworn she saw a slight frown on his face before it vanished as if it was never there. "The nobles aren't the only ones feeling agitated Cornelia; Websites started popping up saying that the money used to intervene in the metal mining and refining industry was public money and thus tax money. Which combined with the bank runs sparked a wave of anti-nobility mentality. It isn't as bad as it was back in Europe but I recognize the signs nonetheless. We need to nip this in the bud before it takes hold."

Cornelia couldn't help but agree. She knew well enough how most monarchies ended in Europe. "I don't have enough troops to suppress the homeland Schneizel and even If I did, it might just antagonize them and validate their cause."

"I know and you aren't going to. I called you back for a victory parade, and before you start complaining let me explain. I need a visual reminder of the glory and strength of the empire. Tales of how easily you defeated the Japanese will dampen the fires in the commoner's hearts by subtly reminding them how the empire became great in the first place and how a revolt would never succeed. "

Cornelia thought it over. "That could work but the most brazen will merely scoff at it and continue onwards."

"True but we have no choice but to let it fester for now and hope it doesn't grow too much because we don't have the resources to deal with it now."

Cornelia resented the very thought of letting any kind of insubordination fester because it spread like a disease once people started thinking it was okay to second-guess their commanding officer. Good men died because stupid ones refused to follow orders unless they were given a crystal clear explanation why they had to and what was in it for them on a case-by-case basis.

"Very well I'll carry out this plan of yours brother but as soon as the people calm down I'm going back to Japan to look for Nunnaly and Lelouch."

Schneizel nodded his head in agreement and gave her his blessing but the look on his face said he didn't believe they were still alive. He just didn't want to antagonize her right now by telling her they were dead.

She herself knew they probably were because there was little chance of them surviving in war-torn xenophobic Japan. She had found no sign of them at the Kururugi shrine's ruin. But the fact that it had been looted gave her hope that it could have been Lelouch and Nunnaly.

She knew it was foolish but so long as she didn't find their bodies she held hope that, they were still alive. It was bad enough to fail Empress Marianne but her children as well, was more than she could take. But to finally break the truth to Euphie would really break her heart. She knew her little sister cherished Nunnaly as her best friend and harboured a not so secret crush on Lelouch.

She had rallied all the political support she had to reverse the exile once she heard of it but the emperor wouldn't budge. She couldn't believe her father would think so little of his own children or that her own allies would only go through the motions to appease her rather than really try to save two innocent children. The whole experience had embittered her against the emperor and her fellow nobles.

But she couldn't break down and rage at the establishment because she had to be strong for Euphie; it was the only thing that kept her going the past few months.

* * *

**Pendragon, Imperial Palace, Princess Cornelia's Personal Quarters.**

**Cornelia's pov**

Cornelia sat despondently behind her desk sipping on a drink poured by Darlton. The man was luckily not completely opposed to drinking your problems away, so long as she didn't make a habit of it. For now, she was spared his reprimands because the situation was really just that screwed up.

Despite the fact that Schneizel had stopped the downward spiral of the economy there were still problems cropping up all over the place. Many nobles had gone from exceedingly rich to almost destitute, at least in their definition.

The loss of wealth brought with it a loss in status and prestige and the disgraced nobles were still smarting about it.

As a result some nobles had some stupid knee jerk reactions to regain their wealth and with it their honour. Her desk was already piled to the point of collapse with reports about nobles increasing taxation in their lands above the recommended limit according to national policy.

In response, she had sent dozens of requests to have certain nobles executed to the emperor. Those fools didn't understand that though the extra tax money might line their coffers nicely, it also had very costly long-term consequences.

The resentment against nobles that Schneizel had elegantly controlled up until now had suddenly exploded in popularity in those lands. The possibility of internal dissent was now very real and to send a strong message that the empire didn't agree with the tyrannical nobles she had to execute them publicly.

But she doubted distancing themselves from those idiots would be enough and this problem wasn't going to fade in the background anymore. It was now a full-blown movement that was still peaceful and underground but for how long?

She looked up as Guilford entered to check up on her. He didn't say anything to prevent irritating her but he did frown at her disapprovingly. She didn't doubt he was about to mother her so she stopped him before he got started "Has Schneizel had any luck yet tracking down the main culprit?"

Guildford snapped to attention at the request for information "No princess, he is still sifting through shell companies. He says he is having trouble distinguishing malicious intent from ordinary greed from other opportunistic vultures."

"How hard can it be to track down who sold the stocks in large enough quantities to crash the market, don't they record that!"

"They do but it was bought and sold through several subsidiaries and the money is passed through several dummy accounts. Even more troubling is that they pass the money in-between themselves for no discernible reason making a large mess of numbers, causing our forensic accountants to have trouble tracking the money."

"And?" asked Cornelia, the face Guildford was making told her there was more to it than that but didn't want to tell her.

"The accounts also deposited money into noble bank accounts opening up lines of questioning about their complicity. Everyone knows it is probably a false trail but nobles are using it as ammo for old grudges to attack each other."

"Great more infighting, just what I need. " grumbled Cornelia as she took another mighty gulp

Darlton got a call and spoke on the phone for a bit while she contemplated whether or not to take another sip. She was drunk and she knew it, but she was still a functional drunk so it begged the question did she want to be...

"Princess Cornelia we have a problem, the commoners are rioting in the street in new Orléans."

Cornelia groaned in recognition of the bad news. "Have them send a firemen brigade and hose them down."

"At once your highness." acknowledged Darlton and he got back on the phone to relay her orders.

She couldn't use force against the commoners, heck she couldn't even show up in person to prevent agitating and validating them even more. The commoners were relatively unaffected by the stock crashes other than losing jobs through bankruptcy and savings from banks going under.

Okay they did have something to complain about but they weren't blaming the economy in general. Instead, they were screaming for the blood of nobles, proclaiming that the nobles stole their money.

The nobles themselves weren't helping matters with their heavy-handed methods in dealing with them, forcing her to take command of low-level peacekeeping forces. They police were infested by incompetent sons of nobles so she didn't trust them after the Time square massacre, where one noble heir got the bright idea to open fire after he was ridiculed and assaulted by the crowd.

But her authority wasn't unchallenged either thanks to Guinevere. She had for some foolish reason accidentally announced price controls. Her words were meant as a motivational speech but she went off script and her words were ripped out of context into meaning price controls. Going off script could be incredibly moving to the people but when it backfires, it really backfires.

The news programs that weren't state owned ran with it and presented it as new national policy causing massive confusion. The royal family had tried to correct it but only came off as looking clumsy and foolish. It didn't exactly inspire confidence and she by association looked bad.

She wouldn't mind as much if it didn't give some of her other siblings more power by comparison. Carine had actually scored quite a lot of points with the nobility when she spouted her warmongering beliefs. It was taken as cute ramblings of an innocent child for the most part but the heavy-handed nobles agreed with her and might side with her in the future.

She hoped Carine would mature over the years and hoped she never became empress. If she did, she might have to plan an assassination to save the empire. And quite frankly, she wasn't sure if she could kill her own blood even then.

The empire definitely didn't need any protracted wars in the near future and even the acquisition of Japan was coming under fire despite it's near immediate capitulation. The projected costs of rebuilding the country were already being written off as an unnecessary drain on the economy. But without it, the diplomatic repercussions were immense and could provide the excuse the EU and Chinese federation needed to mobilize their people to war.

Reducing millions of people to poverty and starvation was enough of a pretext for war in anyone's book. So as a result, they were being forced to let Japan secede for the moment.

Overall, it looked like it would take five years to recover from this recession at the very least. Unless a hail Mary came through for them.

"Darlton any word from Schneizel yet." She asked again

"Not yet your highness, but once they figure out who is responsible, the rest of this economic issue should evaporate like snow before the sun" reassured Darlton

Cornelia didn't quite share her subordinate and former teacher's optimism. She acknowledged that this crisis was mainly a psychological one but convincing the people of that was still difficult. In some ways, a concrete identifiable problem seemed infinitely better to her. At least then you could say 'its over people we fixed it' and then everything would go back to normal.

But still she had faith in Schneizel's political skills, so in time she believed he could turn this around.

"Lets hope so Darlton." She agreed amicably though she didn't really believe it. They fell into companionable silence as they sipped their drinks and gazed out the window at the imperial city of Pendragon.

She was about to make an inane remark about some birds flying by when suddenly the TV in the corner playing the news on mute got hijacked.

She wouldn't have noticed it, if Guilford's gasp hadn't drawn attention to it. Once she did look at it, it took a few seconds before she realized what she was looking at. The screen showed a Brittannian flag as a backdrop with Lelouch's face in front of it.

Cornelia couldn't believe it, her little brother was alive and well! So his sister Nunnaly probably too, against all odds! But why were they on TV? Was the emperor already using them in a propaganda campaign before they even had a chance to talk to their family?

Then it began, Lelouch addressed the audience with a glare as he spoke.

**Lelouch's broadcast**

This is a recording if you are seeing this; I was probably killed on the emperor's orders. He cares nothing for his children and saw us as weak and so we were cast off as political prisoners and probably sacrificed in the following invasion.

In response I put together a little going away present, if all went to plan there is a massive recession in Britannia. "Said Lelouch with a smug grin "I orchestrated everything so that the economy would crash, if I died, as a final bargaining chip and my revenge. How does it feel Britannia to be brought to your knees by a ten-year-old boy deemed too weak by you to merit living?

Knowing you now have to beg your enemies not to attack you because you would lose any war you would now fight. And that as soon as the crisis passes the emperor will execute all those responsible for this debacle."

Lelouch paused for a second to let those words sink in

"Make no mistake he sentenced me to death for talking back to him, allowing a little boy to derail the entire economy and stop his plans of world conquest," he pointed straight at the viewer " is more than enough to get you executed!"

He then lowered his voice to just a whisper though it could still be heard clearly "Also this was done in just six months!"

He threw his hands up dramatically "Imagine what Schneizel could do, if he wanted to? He is smarter than I am and has more power and despises social Darwinism just as much as me. He could not just bring the empire to its knees but destroy it completely and all you idiotic incompetent nobles would be powerless to stop him."

Lelouch sneered down on them "You are all weak and I am strong and therefore I devoured you. How does it feel when it happens to you Britannia? Knowing it was only your aristocratic titles that gave you a mimicry of strength." He let his words sink in again

"Next time show mercy to the weak you hypocrites, after all you are no different."

The broadcast cut off to grey static and was soon replaced by a flabbergasted reporter who was at a loss for words and was stalling for time.

"I cant believe it," blurted out Guilford

Neither could Cornelia, she was stunned by the fact that they had been brought to the brink of destruction by her own brother. He certainly had the motivation and capability to pull it off but not without help, so who did?

But the fact that he had specifically targeted Schneizel also bugged her.

Did he really think Schneizel was a threat? Or did he do it, to prevent him from pulling the empire back together?

After thinking it over for a second the conclusion was obvious, it was Lelouch's final fuck you. By hamstringing Schneizel, it practically guaranteed that there wasn't going to be an easy solution to their economics woes. But worse than that was the political divide it would cause among the nobles. Schneizel had ruffled a lot of feathers by forcing the nobles into compliance with his reform plan.

The other royal factions would now use that sentiment and this excuse to politically cripple Schneizel.

If they played their cards right, they might just raise enough of a shit storm to put Schneizel all the way to the back of the line for the throne instead, of pole position. If that happened, it was practically up for grabs again, for everyone meaning they would all work together at least for the moment.

* * *

**Carnahan Estate,**

"Hurry up Claire or we'll miss the boat." yelled her father from downstairs

"Just a minute I just need to find my MP3 player!"

"I told you to only grab the bare essentials Claire!" yelled her father back

Claire sighed as she looked under the bed again; it had to be here somewhere. She didn't even get why she had to put up with this nonsense. Just because some blowhard made some ridiculous statements on TV, they suddenly had to run for their lives?

Her daddy was just overreacting and that was that. He was always a worrywart and had the stomach acid to prove it. She didn't quite get what an investment banker did but even if it paid a lot, it wasn't worth it if it took years of your life.

Her mother came into the room and gave that familiar disapproving look at her unpacked suitcase. She had gotten that look, so many times that she was practically immune to it but she still got that phantom itch or something. She couldn't just keep looking her right in the eyes so she just kept searching and ignoring her.

"Claire." said her mother in warm tones "I know you don't understand what's going on and I don't expect you to. But just trusts us for now and do what we say."

That patronizing tone really pissed her off "Why the bloody hell do we need to leave the country just because we got a mysterious deposit in our bank account. We've done nothing wrong! The emperor will see that and just ignore us and go after that delinquent son of his!"

Her mother smiled gently at her, which only annoyed her, even more "You and I know that but the emperor doesn't and things don't look that black and white from the outside. The fact is his son manipulated the system to ruin the country but he couldn't have done it without help. Someone had to have helped him execute the orders and there's a witch hunt going on to find those people and charge them with treason." The fact that treason was punishable by death went unsaid.

Claire gritted her teeth "But daddy didn't even meet the halfblooded bastard! How can they be saying we had anything to do with it?"

"They're not, at least not yet." explained her mother but she held up her hand before Claire could question why they were leaving then. "You're father however was in charge of the financial system that caused a lot of nobles to lose a lot of money. It is irrational but some of the nobles are blaming him and it's only a matter of time before they air their petty grievances by spreading rumours that he did it on purpose. From there rumours will spread and we will turn into full-blown accomplices who were in it from the start. Once that happens, people will scream for our heads and rather than weather the storm with us, our friends will desert us. Once that happens and we're politically isolated, the emperor will see executing us as a viable plan to pacify the masses"

Claire's eyes widened in shock" What…" she choked out" But that's not fair! We didn't do anything wrong they can't just execute us because we're unpopular at the moment!"

Her mother grabbed her into a tight hug and shushed her "I know dear but that's court politics. You've already experienced the backstabbing bitches at your school and I know I've said it'll get better but it won't." she confided, "You'll be stuck with those bitches for the rest of your life only the stakes will increase. Every word will be measured and weighed for possible openings and weaknesses and if you screw up, your family pays the price. And that is what happened, the prince put words in our mouths and now we're vulnerable.

Heck by pointing it out in that damnable broadcast of his he practically insured this witch-hunt would happen. "Grumbled her mother

Claire sniffled as her new reality crashed into her like relentless waves " But…" she tried to finish that sentence but she didn't know what to say. She already cried out for justice but it fell on deaf ears so what else was there to say?

"But we're going to leave all that behind us honey." her mother finished for her" Your father arranged safe entrance into the EU where they don't care about nobility. Off course, we'll still be treated with respect like we're used to, but this time it'll only be because of our money. We might emigrate back to the empire once a more forgiving emperor takes the throne, but for now I'm looking forward to a nice party with friends without having to worry about our family's prestige."

Claire nodded "But won't they come after us?"

Claire could see the worry in her mother's eyes but she kept up her smiling mask so she decided not to press whatever answer she gave "They might, but right now they're too busy arguing over whether or not prince Schneizel is the right man to lead us. They'll spend so much time playing tug of war between the different factions that they won't even know we're gone."

Claire nodded and threw a few random clothes into her suitcase without her usual obsession with colour coördination. She then closed it and followed her mother down the stairs without another word.

She arrived in the EU two weeks later and made a lot off new friends who were a lot nicer than her old ones, once she got used to how disrespectful they were. She chalked it up to a cultural difference after a little sit-down with her mom. Though the message didn't really get through to her until she read on the internet that her house had been burned down by an angry mob, one of her 'friends' from school had posted the link online. After she read what all her former friends had said about her, she preferred the new ones who called her a stuck up bitch to her face.

* * *

**Europe, News Channel**

"This is Euronews with a special report about the aftermath of the prince's revenge or as the people on the streets are already calling it the prince's blessing.

As everyone already knows, the chain of events that prince Lelouch set in motion caused an economic crisis in Britannia and forced it to retreat from Japan. Thanks to prince Lelouch's actions, the freedom of a whole nation has been preserved and has shown the tyrannical regime of Britannia for what it really is. One can only hope that Britannia learns from this experience and decides to follow more democratic traditions.

But recent news from Britannia indicates something different. The emperor has silenced the opposition to prince Schneizel by giving his blessing to his son. This unprecedented show of nepotism and concentration of power in the imperial family proves they are still going to continue their tradition of cronyism and collective narcissism.

Prince Schneizel armed with the blessing of the emperor has already issued several important royal decrees. He has declared that there will be no increases in military spending for the next four years in a blatant attempt to appease the more peace-oriented nations.

He has also announced that they will lower their agreed percentage of the sakuradite export from Japan. This is again an attempt to sooth our outrage by bribing us into silence.

One mustn't forget that the deal to divide the sakuradite mined in Japan equally among the three superpowers was initially brokered by prince Schneizel because Britannia couldn't afford the costs of colonization and peacekeeping forces.

The treaty was accepted as a bloodless way to expel Britannia from Japanese soil. But Britannia lacks the strength to enforce the treaty and Japan is all too wiling to break it. This means that prince Schneizel is basically selling us hot air.

Now some may be wondering what the prince is angling for. Well we received an anonymous tip on our website from chessaficionado12 that suggests he is building the necessary goodwill to negotiate the return of the political refugees that fled the empire.

The refugees took with them a significant amount of capital and by offering them a pardon for desertion prince Schneizel intends to regain use of it.

It is however still unclear whether the exiled nobles would accept a gesture of leniency from a man who sentenced his own children to death.

Or alternatively if it was just an attempt to influence our referendum about whether we should go to war with the Holy Britannian Empire. If so it has worked because the majority vote was no.

The politicians have accepted the people's will and have decided to redirect our efforts towards humanitarian efforts to help rebuilt war-torn Japan

Several construction firms are already in negotiations with the Japanese, though critics say that Japan doesn't have the money to afford it and we'll likely be forced to forgive their debt. The president of the EU however has already reassured us that we'll be going ahead with reconstruction despite this, because we need to help those in need. He is confident that Japan will regain their former glory and repay the debt or find alternative payment by providing raw resources. "

* * *

**Japan, Tokyo**

**Suzaku pov**

Suzaku was staring despondently at the latest news on his television. Just one thought pervaded his mind and that was 'it was all in vain'

Kaguya tried to reassure him "Suzaku it's gonna be alright. You still have friends and family who won't abandon you"

"Kaguya I can accept my family disowning me. It's after all no less than I deserve for the crime I committed. "Replied Suzaku

Seeing her puzzled look he continued, "The thing I can't accept is that it was all in vain. I killed my father for nothing!" He cried out in anguish

Kaguya tried to comfort him but he didn't miss the lack of sincerity in her words. She would have preferred to fight to the last man standing, uncaring of how many Japanese people died. But she was pushing her beliefs aside to try to comfort him, which he appreciated. He didn't think it would work but he appreciated the distraction and the chance to confess his sins.

"Suzaku you did that to stop the war and now the war has stopped, so your goal has been fulfilled, even if it wasn't by your hand. If you truly only care for the Japanese people then you should be satisfied with that."

"I did do it for the people! " Suzaku vehemently protested "But this isn't the end of it, Britannia will attack again and then we will fight to the death. There will be no last-minute miracle orchestrated by Lelouch and we will be massacred!"

"Then we will fight and defeat them the next time. Nothing is written in stone yet, we can become stronger as long as we don't lose the will to do so."

"And how many people will die to prevent Britannia from landing on our shores. Without help from the other superpowers we are but a fly to be swatted by Britannia's might. We have no choice but to join either the EU or the Chinese or even Britannia of our own volition."

"You would throw away our independence that easily?" asked Kaguya askance

"If it means saving the people than yes!"

"You would rather be a slave to a foreign master than fight for our culture and freedom?"

Suzaku shook his head at the rhetoric Kaguya spouted, that sounded the same as the one her father spouted and his father along with him. He doubted she even knew what she was really saying. "Eventually the empire will become too big to be controlled by just pure-blooded britannians. They will start integrating numbers when they are the overwhelming minority. Once that happens we can work our way up from the inside and change the system from the inside."

"You realize that Britannia is a militarized country, to have any real power you would have to join the military Suzaku."

"If that's what it will take then that will be what I'll do, to save the Japanese people!"

"You're forgetting the heavy prejudice and discrimination that is rampant in Britannian culture. They will never promote you!"

"There may be some rotten apples but Nunnaly and Lelouch proved that not all of them are as bad as they are made out to be"

"Suzaku you idiot! They were the exception to the rule and because of that; they were sentenced to death despite being little children!" Kaguya screamed back at him

"They got sent here because Lelouch mouthed off to the emperor but Nunnaly told me about how kind her other siblings were"

"Of course she wouldn't tell you about how awful the rest were, that just being polite Suzaku. They have a hundred brothers and sisters and they told you of only four. Now what does that tell you about the rest?"

"Lelouch said they were so detached from the problems of the common people that they lived in a delusional world kept in place by the nobles. If I can just talk to them I know I can convince them to become better people. After all Lelouch said they were like overgrown children who were never taught how to become grown ups. "

"You presume too much Suzaku. There is no way you can act like a parent figure to the royal family no less. Just because Lelouch and Nunnaly were forgiving towards your insults doesn't mean the rest of them will."

"I don't need to. I just need to figure out which one has the most gentle heart and help that person take the throne. "

"So you intend to become a personal knight to that person then?" Kaguya asked in disbelief "Those people swear their whole life to their service. They are nothing more than glorified meat shields and slaves depending on your definition. If you chose wrong, there will be no going back and you will be forced to commit atrocities in their name."

"Then I will make sure I chose right." Suzaku declared resolutely

Kaguya glared at his bullheadedness. Seeing this made Suzaku relax a bit, Kaguya was always so cute when she was angry. "Anyways that's all hypothetical for now. Right now I need to find a way to convince our families to ally with another superpower to prevent another war on our shore." He had a distinct lack of credibility now that he was known as the 'Traitor of Japan' within the inner circle of the government.

"I doubt you will have much luck with that either. When news came in about the economic crises and caused the retreat many Japanese immediately praised Lelouch."

"Yeah I heard they are calling it prince Lelouch's blessing rather than his revenge. But what has that to do with making an alliance? "

"Because idiot, it effectively sabotaged the Britannian war machine. Britannia can't attack us for another three years at least, unless they want to deal with an economic crisis at the same time as a war. The county is in chaos but everyone is elated and hopeful about the future. Not to mention the miracle of Itsukushima from Tohdoh has given the people hope that it is possible to beat those knightmares with enough preparation. "

Suzaku blinked in surprise "Itsukushima was a lot of luck, planning and ambushes, there is no way it will work twice."

"You and I may know that, but most people believe in it and no one is going to tell them different to prevent morale from dropping."

"They shouldn't lie to the people just so that they can wage war for their own satisfaction." grumbled Suzaku

"Suzaku if we don't give the people hope they will give in to fatalistic thoughts and give up hope. They will descend into chaos and start riots, do you know how many people will get hurt if that happens."

Suzaku sighed in defeat "I guess you're right."

"I am and about more than just this." Kaguya said as she got up to leave his small apartment.

Suzaku said his farewells and watched her go. He admitted Kaguya had some points but he wasn't prepared to throw away so many lives to preserve their way of life. Customs and traditions changed over time anyways, so there was no point in throwing away lives to save it. He would save the people themselves even if it meant adopting a new name.

He grabbed his jacket and went out into the ruins of Tokyo to join one of the clean up crews. The bombing runs had severely damaged the city, and even now people were busy clearing the rubble away to get the city operational again.

As he picked up another piece of concrete to place on the flatbed truck that was going to haul it to god knows where. His thoughts drifted to Lelouch who had manipulated the Britannian system to crumble Britannia from within and forced the retreat.

He wondered if Lelouch had done it to save the Japanese people or had something else in mind. If he had done it for the Japanese he figured Lelouch would have told him about it. But Lelouch was always secretive so that in itself didn't really mean much.

The only thing he was sure about was that Lelouch was either dead or wanted by the Britannian military. Seeing as every Britannian noble and commoner now cursed his name.


	4. Surviving War-torn Japan

**Japan**

**Back to Lelouch a month prior**

Lelouch had hidden in the forest for two weeks while taking the long route towards the Ashford's residence. However, the countryside was filling up with fleeing Japanese, which in itself was not a problem.

The problem was their unmitigated hate for britannians and the fact that the depravity of man reached new heights during war. If they were found they would receive a severe beating at the very least by these angry Japanese.

Lelouch stuck to the shadows and always hid their food a decent distance from were they slept every night to prevent animals and desperate Japanese from thinking that they were good targets.

As if god himself wanted to crush his hopes, he heard Suzaku say "I think those guys are following our trail"

He looked back and followed Suzaku's gaze until he found a group of Japanese men cautiously walking through the bushes.

"They could just be random refugees "Lelouch offered feebly in denial" They could just be scavenging for food like all the other refugees."

"No I don't think so; they have been following us for a while now." Suzaku replied back

Lelouch scowled at that, not only was he followed by a group of possibly malicious Japanese but Suzaku hadn't even bothered to mention it before. He decided to bite back his retort at his carelessness to preserve group dynamics. He followed the progress the Japanese were making for a while and noticed they followed their steps almost exactly.

He groaned in frustration. He had worried about that but shrugged it off as a calculated risk. The tracks the men were following were made by the sled tied to Nunnally's wheel chair. He could just abandon it now and run, but that would mean risking starvation within a week.

With the very real concern about not finding another source of food and needing to wait out the war for as long as possible, it wasn't an acceptable loss. One of the main causes of death in a war zone wasn't just bullets but starvation as well. All out, war disrupted all production and it took Herculean efforts to keep enough running to provide basic necessities. Extrapolating from the bombing run on the prime minister's home he knew that all of Japan had to be getting bombed as well. There would be no food produced in a country that already held more citizens than it could sustain naturally. He expected at least twenty percent of the native population to die from starvation unless this war ended soon and relief aid was sent.

He knew this, but the real question was if the Japanese following them knew this. Judging from their dogged pursuit, he would venture a yes and avoid them at all costs. However, he couldn't outrun them forever. Mostly because he was just a child carrying a lot of luggage while they were fully-grown men.

"Suzaku we can't outrun them." he warned his friend and mentally prepared himself for the debate to come.

"Why should we run? We could ask them for help and besides we got plenty of food to share. So there would be no reason for them to hurt us." Suzaku replied back ignorantly

Lelouch stifled a groan at his friend's optimism. Yes, they had enough food to last them for at least two months maybe six if they rationed it. However, he ignored that if they had six other mouths to feed it would only last one-third of that. Britannia held the advantage and would probably win this war within months so they might just have to hold out for things to settle and then leave. However, most likely it would be a while before naval security slackened enough for him to escape meaning he would have to ration it as much as possible.

Those Japanese might be willing to ration at first but it wouldn't be long before hunger drove them to demand a bigger cut. They would be out of luck trying to enforce their rules on six adults. He would probably have to endure some annoying lecture about food doing no good to you if you were dead.

It would end up, in those Japanese fighting them off, or running off with their tails between their legs. Either way if they weren't going to run, it was going to lead to a fight.

"Suzaku we don't have enough food to last forever. We will squabble over it and we will get outvoted by them." outvoted was a euphemism for getting beat down but he didn't need to offend Suzaku's sensibilities right now.

"Lelouch stop it, they are not going to hurt us. Just because they were cold-hearted in Britannia doesn't mean we are the same." retorted Suzaku

Lelouch gritted his teeth but made no further reply. If Suzaku was going to be an idiot than he would just leave before things got violent. He had no chance of outrunning them with the loot and no chance of outfighting them without Suzaku. He could however take Nunnaly, run off by himself, and abandon Suzaku to the whims of the Japanese.

He started untying the sled to have at least some chance of outrunning the Japanese if Suzaku was going to play unintentional decoy.

"Lelouch what are you doing?"

"I'm trying to abandon the only food we are likely to find, so we can run from those Japanese."

"Are you stupid! You'll starve to death and for the last time Japanese aren't as cruel as britannians." Suzaku vehemently protested and stopped him from untying the knots further

" Did you forget Suzaku that we are Britannian? Our country is massacring theirs! If we show our face they will take their anger out on us!" Lelouch tried to reason with him

"You're just children and have nothing to do with that. Don't think Japanese can't see the difference even if we are mad."

Lelouch raged on the inside. This idiot's nationalistic pride was going to get them killed. "If those bastards so much as harm one hair on Nunnally's head I will hold you responsible Suzaku." he whispered menacingly at him.

His friend looked shocked for a second, before he calmly replied," It'll be fine Lelouch trust me."

It wasn't like he had a choice here, it was either starve or take a chance. Maybe he could convince Suzaku to kill them in their sleep after tensions mounted.

Suzaku called out to the wandering group bringing them right to them. Any hope of them perhaps misreading their trail and passing them over was shot with that, however slim it was.

The one in the front asked " What are you kids doing out here all alone, where are your parents?" it sounded innocent enough to Suzaku that he immediately replied but Lelouch wanted to slap him for his carelessness .

He just admitted to the fact they were alone and they could easily overpower them. True they had swords but those Japanese had some makeshift weapons of their own. That iron crowbar may not cut through flesh like his sword could, but one good hit would shatter his skull all the same.

Still he let Suzaku do the talking because he was Japanese and that wouldn't rub them the wrong way as much compared to if he did the talking. He wasn't sure how they would react to him talking Japanese but assumed it wouldn't be good. Besides, he may pick up on some useful information if they thought he couldn't understand them.

He listened closely and eventually they agreed to work together though Suzaku had to pull rank on them by revealing his identity as the prime minister's son. He thought they were loyal to the government when they agreed to help him when they heard that but Lelouch just saw the greed in their eyes. They were either going to hand them over to the Japanese government for a reward or the Britannian one. Whichever they saw first, though the Japanese was more likely because they had less of a chance at being shot on sight with them.

" And who are the Britannian brats?" asked one of the group now identified as Natsume.

Lelouch prayed that Suzaku had the good sense not to tell them they were Britannian royalty at least. "They are the children of the trade ambassador from Britannia. They got stranded here when the invasion started" Suzaku fibbed

For once Suzaku had the common decency to lie. He was scared for a second that he would stick to his philosophy that liars were evil and tell the truth.

Natsume the apparent leader of the group eyeballed them and summed them up eloquently " Hmm deadweight huh."

Lelouch bristled at the insult but chose not to reply in the slightest because he wasn't supposed to understand that. No sense in wasting valuable advantages over petty insults, he had dealt with worse in Pendragon.

Suzaku gave him a look that basically screamed that he didn't understand why Lelouch didn't defend himself but luckily, he didn't voice it.

Instead he tried defending him himself" He is not deadweight. Without him we wouldn't even have all this food to share."

That idiot!

Natsume just glared at Lelouch harder "So he stole it from a house somewhere along the way huh." it wasn't a question it was a statement.

Immediately Suzaku protested that it was food from his house but the notion that they were scavengers was already firmly in planted. They weren't going to change their minds despite lip service saying otherwise. Scavenging was only natural in a war zone but with them being Britannian, it just looked like they stole it from some more deserving Japanese family.

This was actually a real concern during war, often enough raiders would steal other families' food causing them to starve. When he mentioned a house, he clearly put him in that category rather than the scavengers that raided abandoned grocery shops and supermarkets.

After a pointless discussion about whether Lelouch was a raider, they switched to planning out their next move. Again Lelouch felt like slapping Suzaku over the head when he agreed to go towards the closest city despite hearing from the other Japanese that the small city they were in got bombed.

It would only be logical that it either was already bombed too or it was going to be. That city was going to be crawling with desperate people who saw them as an easy mark and he decided to waltz right in there.

He was seriously second-guessing his decision to fake not being able to understand Japanese. In the end, though he knew he wasn't going to change their minds even if he did speak up. He wished he could just force them to follow his lead, at least then this wouldn't turn into a disaster.

He then looked towards Nunnally and saw that she was scared but was holding her tongue. She didn't speak Japanese as well as him but she understood enough to know that these men weren't friendly. He moved towards her and tried to reassure her as best he could.

After some, more arguing amongst themselves the group decided to move out. He got assigned scouting duty and got separated from his sister, which annoyed the hell out of him. He glared at Suzaku but the boy just shrugged it off.

* * *

**Suzaku pov**

He didn't get why Lelouch had his panties in a bunch so much over these guys. His friend really got way too paranoid sometimes. It was true that he could think things through in a way he would never be able to, but out of all the scenarios, he could envision he always thought the most pessimistic one was the most likely.

Take him to a restaurant and he hears the regular chef called in sick and had someone new fill in for him and Lelouch immediately tensed, as if he feared he was going to get poisoned. Because of this Suzaku had learned to take Lelouch's concerns with a pinch of salt and some common sense.

These guys were just some local villagers trying to meet up with family in Tokyo now that the power went out in the area. He wasn't sure if it was nation wide but he doubted it. It was probably a bomber strike on the nearby power plant causing a local black out. Once he got to Tokyo, he would be able to get into contact with his father and sort this mess out.

It was a long trek on foot but within a day or two, they should make it over there. He would have preferred just waiting for rescue from one of his father's subordinates, but Lelouch had a fair point when he reasoned that Britannian soldiers might come to kill him.

He didn't quite believe Lelouch was really the target but he didn't want to argue over pointless things. He had enough trouble just convincing Lelouch to be more than two meters separated from his sister. It had taken several oaths for Lelouch to loosen up enough to go scout out the area. He would have done it himself but Lelouch wasn't anymore comfortable with that option and Natsume pointed out that everyone had to pull their own weight.

At which point Lelouch seemed ready to launch into an argument, but refrained for some reason. He really didn't get why Lelouch was being so uncharacteristically quiet and only spoke in Britannian.

He shrugged it off as he stirred the fire some more while the guys gutted the fish they caught in the nearby river. They had plenty of non-perishables, but it was better to save those for later.

He did a quick count of the fish and realized it wasn't enough for all of them. It wasn't surprising but still disappointing, he decided to make some small talk" Not much luck at the river huh."

Natsume glanced at him "I don't know what you're talking about. This is about as much as you can realistically expect from the river."

Suzaku frowned" I thought these woods and rivers were full of wildlife."

"In storybooks or old legends maybe, but nowadays they are scarcer than you'd think. Either that or we lack the skill to catch them. It comes down to the same thing either way."

Suzaku let out a sigh "I guess we will have to make due with our supplies until the war ends."

Natsume glared at him" You don't get it do you?"

"What are you talking about?"

"This war is only going to end with Britannia winning it's only a question of when and you know how they treat their conquered."

Suzaku nodded glumly "Yeah they get treated like second class citizens."

" That's a euphemism if I ever heard one. They get treated like slaves at best and annoying eyesores at worst. We need to escape this god forsaken country before it's too late."

"You would abandon Japan? "Asked Suzaku incredulously

"Wake up kid pretty soon there won't be a Japan. The only thing that matters is surviving long enough to escape and meeting up with our family in the mean time."

"I guess," offered Suzaku tentatively

"This means we will be stuck living on scraps in the forests for months on end. So we can't afford any deadweight."

Suzaku's head snapped up when he heard that " Whatta ya mean?" he asked fearfully

"Do I need to spell it out for you kid? That other Britannian brat may come in useful but this one is a burden we don't need."

Nunnaly let out a surprised gasp.

"So you do speak Japanese. I was wondering because you seemed to react to our words but never responded. "

Natsume gave a nod to one of his friends "….Do it."

"No wait! Don't do it!" yelled Suzaku as he tried to intervene. The other guys stopped him before he got to Nunnaly. He struggled as hard as he could but he couldn't overpower all of them at the same time and only succeeded in grabbing all of their attention.

However, from the corner of his eye he saw Lelouch coming out of the bushes and quickly grabbing Nunnally's wheelchair and darting back into the forest.

He felt some of the tension in his muscles relax as he breathed out a sigh of relief that his friends were safe. He for once was thankful for Lelouch's paranoid delusions that had probably kept him close to the camp to spy on them instead of scouting like he was supposed to.

He resigned himself to the rearguard action and kicked and screamed as much as possible to keep them from noticing that Nunnaly was gone.

He knew he was strong for his age but he was still no match for six grown men unarmed. He cursed his carelessness when he left his sword by the fire. He could have beaten them easily if he had it in his hands but they weren't letting him get anywhere close to it.

After a while, one of them noticed that Nunnally was gone. " Hey the little brat is gone!"

" The other one must have come back and grabbed her. She couldn't have escaped by herself, there are too many trees here for her to navigate around them."

One of them chuckled "True she'd probably bump into every tree along the way and get tangled up in some bushes."

"Exactly." agreed Natsume " Alright guys lets spread out and find her quickly before they cover too much ground."

" Just leave her alone. You got the food and got rid of the dead weight so you don't need to hurt them anymore." yelled Suzaku in outrage

"Kid you really are clueless aren't ya." sneered Natsume " The wheelchair was used to tug this sled around, without it we'd have to carry it ourselves. Do you have any idea how much that will slow us down and not to mention how hard that would be. I don't care about the kids I just need that wheelchair. "

" If I ask them to give it to you will you let us go then?" asked Suzaku desperately

Natsume sighed in exasperation " Knock him out, we don't have time to deal with his idiotism."

Suzaku struggled fiercely but passed out when he got hit in the back of the head.

Lelouch was running as fast as he could without looking back. He barely spared a thought for his friend, scratch that ex-friend. Well okay that was a lie he couldn't stop thinking but there was no denying he was severing all ties of friendship with Suzaku. Despite his protests, Suzaku had almost unintentionally engineered the death of his little sister. If there was one unforgivable sin in his book then that was certainly it.

As far as he was concerned, Suzaku was dead to him. However, putting childish tantrums aside he needed to figure out his more pressing concern rather than distract himself with easier matters.

Nunnaly's wheelchair was still making a slight depression in the ground even without the added weight of the sled.

Lelouch cursed his luck as he pushed his sister's wheelchair as fast as he could but the forest was not easy to traverse with a wheelchair. He was already tiring out and was considering ditching the wheelchair and to just take their weapons and hard drives.

It would mean starvation if he abandoned the few supplies tied to the wheelchair itself. However, if those Japanese found them, they might die. He had already seen enough Japanese corpses made by the Britannian military that he had no doubt that these men were eager to return the favour.

He made his decision, he ditched the wheel chair, reversed the backpack with the hard drives so they were on top of his stomach and carried his sister on his back and carried his sword in his hand and told Nunnaly to hold on to the gun.

He cursed the Japanese for their dogged pursuit, he had felt a kinship to them when they too were attacked by Britannia but now he lost all sympathy and empathy with them. People were all the same if given the chance they would prey on the weak.

* * *

**Nunnaly pov**

Nunnaly was scared, as much as her brother had tried to hide it by telling her that the bad smell was really a garbage container and other sugar-coating. It was not enough to hide the fact that the bad smell was everywhere or the smell and sound of the bombs falling from the sky. And especially the fact that they were running from a group of angry Japanese.

Nunnaly was not stupid, naïve maybe but certainly not stupid. She knew she would be a burden on her brother when she became crippled, but now she might be the death of him. He could probably get away by himself if he left her behind.

He might not be in the best physical shape, but without her slowing him down, he would have a chance of reaching the Ashfords. She cursed her helplessness and most of all those Japanese who were causing her brother so much suffering. All because they viewed them as deadweight. She knew she was dead weight in every sense of the word but her brother was anything but and she refused to drag him down with her.

* * *

**Lelouch pov**

Lelouch was at his wit's end, he could not leave anything else behind. He needed those weapons if worst came to worst.

He needed those hard drives to build a support base in the EU. His going away present was a start but only a foundation, he needed to strike the iron while it was hot. His going away present should give him some funds to start up in the EU but not enough to carry out his plans. Those hard drives would give him all the funds he would need and the right contacts as well, if he played his cards right. They were basically his future and so he couldn't part with it either.

The easiest thing to leave behind would be his sister to make his escape but that was the one thing he refused above all else. He deliberated some more on how to escape, specifically if he could take advantage of the landscape to send them off on a wild goose chase. But he lacked the knowledge to do so effectively.

But the point would be moot soon anyway he could already hear them approaching. Before he could see them in the distance following their trail now and then, but now he could hear their voices coordinating their search effort. It was hopeless he had failed his sister and his recording would not just ensure his would-be-hosts of his allegiance against Britannia but would really be his funeral speech.

* * *

**Nunnaly pov**

Nunnaly could feel the muscles in her brother tensing at the sound of their pursuers approach. She could hear them spotting them and had learned enough basic Japanese to understand their derogatory insults. And judging by their tone of voice they were definitely hostile, she even picked out the word she had heard so much in those battle anime her brother and Suzaku liked watching. Shine, it was pronounced differently than she was used to but she still knew it meant die .

She was beyond scared now, she knew now why her brother was pushing himself beyond his limit. He had known beforehand what would happen when somebody found them. It was why she had a gun in her hand despite the fact that she hated killing, not because her brother hands were full but for her protection.

Her brother was hesitating, probably afraid what she would think of him if he tried to kill them in self-defence. As much as she hated killing she loved her brother more, she wanted him to live no matter what, so she told him.

" Lelouch its fine, I know they are trying to kill us don't hesitate, feel free to kill them to survive no matter what. I'll love you no matter what happens, I will always love you." she reassured him as best she could

* * *

**Lelouch pov**

Lelouch felt a weight lift of his shoulders he did not know was there. He had tried forming a plan of attack that did not involve Nunnaly but he could not leave her nor could he kill right in front of her and still be her caring older brother. It was a petty concern in the face of survival but nonetheless he could not abandon it so easily, but now that he had permission to do so. He knew it would change everything but it was better than death.

As long as he could see her smile in a gentle world he did not care who and how many had to die to achieve it. He carefully put his sister down against a tree and moved away into the foliage. He used the falling of darkness and the thick forest to his advantage to launch a sneak attack. He snuck up on them and sliced one of their throats to quickly kill and silence him. But the body crashed through the bushes and made enough sound to draw the other's attention. When they didn't get a response if the guy whose throat he just slashed was alright they realized they were under attack and where he was.

He absentmindedly thanked the prime minister that it was illegal for citizens to own firearms or he would be dead already. His pursuers only had numbers and some makeshift weapons which were deadly nonetheless .

" Back off!" he yelled " Just leave us alone or I'll kill the lot of you" he threatened trying to sound more menacing and confident than he felt.

" You killed Yamamoto you bastard there's no way we're letting Brit scum get away with that." Yelled a voice through the canopy " What am I supposed to tell my sister that her fiancé just decided to back out of the wedding at the last-minute without a word."

Lelouch cursed his luck that he just had to have a family man as his assailant. Well he doubted he could have scared them off without a show of force in the first place and at least now, there was one bastard less to deal with.

Judging by the sounds around him, they were trying to surround them but if he moved carelessly, he would just give away his position completely. His best bet was to find an opening and sneak out of the encirclement to attack them from behind and lead them away from his sister.

A twig snapped just to the right of him and he could see a pretty good look guy raking his back and forth trying to spot him through the leaves. It would only be a matter of time before he saw him through the leaves as well or he walked around the bush where he didn't have enough cover.

Lelouch gripped his sword until his knuckles turned white and he had to force himself to relax. He took a deep breath when the guy came into range and with one smooth motion swung the sword in a diagonal upward arc.

He managed to cut the guy deeply and could distinctly hear him gurgling on his own blood as his longs filled with them. Lelouch was faintly surprised the guy didn't scream. He seemed more interested in touching the wound with his fingers and holding them up to his eyes so he could double-check.

Lelouch took the moment the guy needed to realize he was dying to reset his stance because he never managed to transition smoothly in between them. With his next stroke, he cut his throat to prevent him from calling for help if he ever got around to it.

The guy fell boneless to the ground and crashed into some bush with wooden branches that broke under his weight. The snapping and cracking drew the attention of the others and all his efforts to remain stealthy were for nothing.

The other guys crashed through the canopy to figure out what happened and Lelouch tried to take advantage of their momentary disorientation by launching another surprise attack but this guy blocked with his crowbar on instinct.

Lelouch immediately tried to break off and try again to take advantage of his lighter weapon and consequently it's higher speed but the guy realized it as well and immediately grabbed the hilt of the sword. Lelouch tried tugging it loose but the guy was too strong for him, even if he had a better grip on the sword. So he let go and jumped back.

He was now unarmed and still left with four attackers.

* * *

**Nunnaly pov**

Nunnaly listened carefully for the enemies' positions and how her brother killed them and whispered quiet encouragements at him. But when her brother lost his sword, she knew it was her turn to act.

She had hoped it would never come to this but they refused to leave them alone and she could not let her brother be the only one to dirty his hands. No, they would carry the sin together, until the end.

She knew where her targets were, she had listened carefully to their footsteps. She resolutely pulled the trigger and confirmed she was right about their location, with their screams of anguish and when their body thudded onto the ground as they died.

She knew where the remaining pursuers were, when she heard them scream something. Probably that they would take revenge for their fallen friends. She could not let them though, she would save her brother. She aimed her gun carefully and shot in quick succession. It helped not having to see what her actions did, but the sound of the soulless husks hitting the ground was unnerving nonetheless. But then she was hit on the back of her head and her world became mute.

* * *

**Lelouch pov**

Lelouch was horrified when his sister opened fire and killed their pursuers with two quick shots to the chest. He wanted to carry this burden by himself, to at least shield his sister from this. He wanted to reach out, grab the gun, and shoot them himself.

But he was too late, the three were already dead and his sister's small dainty hands already covered in blood. Wait three! Were did the other one go? And then he heard a weird noise from behind, he quickly turned around.

He saw his sister's body go slack, after a moment of confusion he recognised the figure standing over her and the bloody rock on the ground. That meant Nunnaly now had a serious head wound. If that got infected, she could die within hours! And there wasn't a hospital he could trust not to hand him over or even to still be standing.

He spotted the gun lying on the ground and with that realization, time seemed to speed up again.

He pushed his concern for Nunnaly to the side for the moment and refocused on the gun Nunnaly had been holding. He raced forward to grab it before his opponent could.

The gun had been knocked out of Nunnally's hand and was now lying in between them. Natsume seemed momentarily confused by his seemingly reckless unarmed charge.

It didn't take him long to realize he was going for the gun, but it gave him the head start he desperately needed. He dove towards the ground to grab the gun and come up in a crouch.

He had the gun in hand but not enough time to raise it before he was tackled to the ground again. They struggled on the ground, his opponent didn't let him aim at him nor did he release it.

It was Lelouch's only hope to win this confrontation. So he bit Natsume, which temporarily caused him to slacken his grip on the gun, and he could aim at his legs. He fired immediately, he knew he was physically outmatched in this fight and any wound no matter how small, that could level the playing field was welcome.

Natsume cried out in pain and then re-intensified his struggle. Although not fatal that wound was sapping his strength but it was still all Lelouch could do to hold on. They fought for another few minutes kicking, punching, and clawing at each other. Lelouch was losing and there was only one bullet left in the gun. He could fire it in the bushes and hope Natsume would slowly bleed out. It was possibly the safest thing to do because he would soon lose control of the gun and Natsume although weakening fast would have an opportunity to take him with him.

So Lelouch fired into the air. This sudden act seemed accidental to his assailant nor did he realize that he just fired the last round as he was still fervently trying to get it. So he let go of the gun and while Natsume regrouped with the gun and took aim. He retreated to Nunnaly and pulled her away.

After he did so, Lelouch saw the big wound on the back of her head and all the blood oozing out of it. He was worried and dozens of different medical diagnoses flitted through his brain but none sounded promising.

Natsume triumphantly pointed the gun at him and pulled the trigger but the gun did not fire. His big grin suddenly turned to horror as he realized he was immobilized with a useless gun and a mobile opponent he had let go off. Lelouch put his sister back on the ground and made sure she was comfy. He then slowly walked towards the sword still trapped underneath the corpse of the man Nunnaly had shot.

"So I have just one question for you, why did you have to kill us? We were no threat to you." asked Lelouch after he swayed to the side to dodge the pistol Natsume just threw at his head.

The man gave out a barking laughter at that "You just slaughtered all my friends and you say you're no threat when you're just a little brat!"

" True enough." shrugged Lelouch " I'll rephrase, what drove you to kill us in the first place?"

Natsume shrugged in defeat "Simple necessity, we needed that wheelchair and we couldn't afford to keep feeding you if we wanted to survive."

Lelouch glared at the man" You would kill children simply to make your own lives easier."

Natsume inspected his leg wound, probably trying to judge whether he could run on it for one last charge to take Lelouch with him " Don't preach mister high and mighty. Everyone tries to take advantage of someone else in small and big ways. The only thing stopping us from descending into chaos is the rule of law. " Natsume rationalized

Lelouch thought about it and admitted the man had a point. Since ancient times people would fight over meaningless things and were only held back by their leaders. The flip side was that people would also fight over meaningless things on behalf of their leaders. For the most part people were held back, but now they had entered an unprecedented period of fighting on behalf of their leaders thanks to his father.

The cycle of hatred had intensified to nearly incurable levels, at least in the short-term. Even if the emperor died, the people of the world wouldn't forget past grudges and would fight among themselves for possibly centuries. After all, that conflict in the middle eastern federation about who were the rightful owners of a piece of land was only settled for the most part when the hatred for Britannia united them.

Lelouch could only see two methods to solve this, creating a huge scapegoat to gather all the hatred in the world onto itself or a strong government that could keep the people in check while the grudges slowly faded.

"You're right even the weak preys upon the weaker if given the chance. But I will re-forge this world anew to protect them even from themselves." Lelouch declared confidently while pulling his sword out from underneath a corpse whose name he couldn't remember.

"Ha you're just a kid so don't talk like you can actually change something." scoffed Natsume " You Britannians may be right bastards but you aren't lying when you say that the strong crushing the weak is the natural order of things. The world will gobble you up and spit you back out before you can change a thing."

" That may indeed be the truth but if so, I will make my lies become the truth through my actions! " yelled Lelouch as he charged forward. Natsume tried to get up, and fight but his leg gave out on him and he fell back to the ground and could only put his arms up in a feeble defence. Lelouch reached him, slashed the man deeply across the chest, and cut off one of his arms.

Natsume chuckled and spat out some blood "I will see you in hell, after all the road to it is paved with good intentions."

Lelouch frowned at the parting words of the man he hated more than anyone in the world since he mortally wounded his sister. Was he already destined to go to hell because he killed? He didn't doubt that Natsume would go there since he hurt Nunnaly but was he a bad person as well?

Whether or not he was, a bad person was a subjective thing, which depended on who you asked. If he asked Cornelia and Schneizel they would reassure him, he did the right thing. But if he asked the family of those he just killed, he would be called the most vile murderer to ever walk upon the earth.

Was he now a demon, or could he still repent by helping others? Was being good or bad a popularity contest, where he had to convince people of his goodness. But what about his hidden flaws, that people wouldn't know about. Would ignorance be bliss, for them and for him?

He decided it didn't matter in the end if he was good or not. He had made his choice, and was going to change this world for the better, even if people wouldn't recognize him as a good person.


	5. Friends you can count on

**Ashford Residence**

Milly was worried, she was in the middle of a war zone but she was in the Britannian part of Tokyo and was spared from the bombing raids because of it. She idly wondered what happened to that black-haired boy she had met once or twice. According to her grandfather, he was also in this country in the care of the Japanese. Which didn't make any sense to her because they were attacking the Japanese meaning they had to be pretty mad at Lelouch because of it. If he was an ordinary commoner, she could understand it but Lelouch was royalty and specifically the family line her family had sworn loyalty to.

Lelouch had released them from their vows publicly to take the bulls-eye of their backs when the nobles tried to settle past grudges against Empress Marianne. However, her grandfather had told them in private that despite that, they were still honour bound to the VI Britannia line. She understood the reason why they did it and was happy that her lord at least cared about his servants. They could have forsaken him and no one would have blamed them but he had made them want to serve him of their own volition.

Though the fact that every noble she came across lately openly sneered down upon them didn't exactly endear them either. Given the choice between backstabbing snakes and a brilliant young man who cared about them, it was an easy choice.

Grandfather had told them they would risk a lot of danger but they had already lost a large part of their fortune and their noble titles. They had nothing tying them to Britannia anymore. They could either fade away into obscurity and try to marry back into the nobility by using their wealth as a bargaining chip or take the plunge.

When she heard that, she may face an arranged marriage with an old baron she knew which option she wanted. Her parents weren't as enthusiastic but were still grudgingly on board because grandfather was still the head of the house.

Her musings about her future where cut short when the doorbell rang, she quickly walked toward the front door yelling "I'll get it."

When she opened the door she was shocked, on her doorstep was a boy her age carrying a girl a few years younger whose head was bleeding. She recognized him as Lelouch after she had a few seconds to get over their dishevelled appearance.

"Milly I need someone to help my sister." He grunted out,

He was clearly exhausted and was about to collapse but refused to do so until he could put his sister down safely.

"Grandpa you need to get over here!" She yelled in response not knowing any better.

She supposed she could phone the Britannian paramedics but she wasn't sure that was a good idea. So she just deferred to her grandpa to handle things. She could already hear her grandfather coming down the stairs.

Ruben Ashford appeared in the hallway and took one long look at Nunnaly and Lelouch. His gaze especially kept flitting back towards Nunnaly's head. He then took out his phone from his pocket and starting phoning somebody

Milly could see a brief flash of fear appear in Lelouch's eyes. "Ruben we can't afford the military to get wind of us here." He warned

"Don't worry this is a Japanese doctor I met over here. He doesn't follow the news much so he won't recognize you. I will just tell him you're some random orphans seeking asylum."

That didn't seem to reassure Lelouch "Need I remind you of the current political landscape Ruben."

Her grandfather sighed "I know it's a risk but I believe this man will hold more value in his Hippocratic oaths than any senseless hatred, especially considering you're still just children."

Lelouch still didn't look relieved but gave a terse nod as he moved into the house. Her grandpa showed him towards one of the guestrooms where he could lay Nunnaly down. After that was done, a tense silence descended upon them as they waited for the doctor.

Milly would normally make some kind of joke to liven things up but right now, she felt that it would be inappropriate. She sat in her comfy chair staring at the wall to keep from staring at the fragile little girl who was her lady. She felt intensely uncomfortable with all the grim and serious faces around the room, but didn't want to leave either. There was no way she was missing any of this unless forced to by her grandfather.

The murky silence was pierced by the ringing doorbell; she quickly got up to answer it. She opened the door to a much more welcome sight than the last. On the doorstep stood a Japanese man covered with a long scarf to hide his face, who was squinting in the darkness at shapes she couldn't make out. Apparently, he was paranoid because he was inside the Britannian zone. She couldn't blame him considering almost everyone wanted to kill him here, and wondered what her grandpa had said to him to convince him to come here.

"Don't just stand there, get in before someone sees you." she ordered quickly

The man's attention snapped back to her and gave a quick bow before he hastily stepped through the door. By this time, they were rejoined by her grandpa who took over filling the man in and led him to the guest room with Nunnaly.

She felt a bit useless as she stood there in the hallway and wondered what she should be doing. She spotted her grandfather coming back out of the room followed by a grim-faced Lelouch. She decided to follow them to eavesdrop on a no doubt interesting conversation. They went into a little side room and Milly pressed her ear to the door.

* * *

**Lelouch pov **

Lelouch stared at the roaring fireplace as he pondered his plans to distract himself from his sister's condition. Any moment that doctor could come back to pronounce his diagnosis. He dreaded those words more than anything as he personally thought it could only be bad news, like hearing you were sentenced to life in prison.

He didn't even want to leave the room, but Ruben had chided him that he shouldn't hover, and whispered in his ear that his personal maid would watch over her. Apparently, this Sayako was an accomplished ninja despite her young age and somehow Ruben had acquired her loyalty. It was surprising but not particularly shocking with Ruben's fascination with the eccentric.

Ruben interrupted his thoughts cautiously "Lelouch."

He looked up and spotted Ruben behind a desk pouring a drink for himself. He suppressed the urge to ask for a drink as well. He was still a minor so he would be denied but he wanted to try drowning his sorrows like he had heard in stories. They all said it didn't really work and only numbed it, but that was all he really needed right now. But he couldn't afford to look weak in front of Ruben now. He needed to finalise some dangerous plans and doing so drunk didn't inspire any confidence.

Lelouch sighed "Did you make contact with the EU as planned?" he asked to jumpstart this pivotal conversation.

Ruben nodded "Indeed I did and so far their response has been favourable provided we can deliver our part."

Lelouch quirked an eyebrow in interest "Really, they just took your word for it."

Ruben grinned "Well they were notably sceptical but I told them of your plan to circumvent the OSI."

Despite what Lelouch thought of most nobles, not every one of them was incompetent. And those competent ones were smart enough to raise the issue of the flight risk the Ashfords now posed. A bandwagon all the other nobles happily jumped on for various reasons. This meant despite essentially pioneering knightmare technology they were ostracized from the scientific community and their security clearances were retracted. Their homes and company offices were also raided for all innovative technology that they could now sell to enemies of the state.

This was just a paper-thin excuse for their competitors to get their hands on Ashford research. But this effectively meant it was impossible for Ruben to get anywhere near a knightmare blueprint and everyone knew it by now.

But they overlooked the fact that Empress Marianne had been the test pilot and a knight of the round because she didn't fulfil her duties after giving birth. Her ceremonial duties had lulled the other nobles into a sense of complacency. They had completely overlooked that Marianne liked to keep tabs on the latest knightmare research herself. Lelouch had quickly copied those documents before anyone thought of it and hid it inside Nunnaly's wheelchair.

The only reason why he had the password to do it in the first place had been thanks to Nunnaly. She had sanctioned several reconnaissance missions to find out their mother's password. Thanks to that, he had managed to spy on her undetected in advance and obtained the password without her knowledge.

"I trust you gave it a more serious sounding spin than some kids playing a game." asked Lelouch in amusement

"Naturally." agreed Ruben with a smirk

Lelouch returned the smirk "When do they expect payment?"

"They are as expected quite anxious to have it as soon as possible, after the show of force Britannia displayed when they invaded Japan."

"Good, that should make them more pliable to my more unreasonable demands." chuckled Lelouch

Ruben sighed "I still think you are being too greedy in trying to get a royalty for every manufactured knightmare frame."

Lelouch shrugged "They won't cough up a large enough lump sum to cover the costs of my future plans. They are politicians they can't justify such a large expense at once, even if it will be cheaper in the end. They need to justify themselves to the public, so they will prefer a small amount in perpetuity rather than its worth over its lifetime."

"True enough but that doesn't mean that they don't know you are screwing them over big time. With the current political landscape, knightmare production will go through the roof and the ones who profit from it will get rich beyond belief thanks to millions of deaths."

"Which is why I want control of it. The political landscape is regressing to ancient times when military power also equated to political power. With free access to knightmare production and refugees to build an army and enough money to fund it, I can gain enough influence to become a dictator in all but name."

Ruben threaded his fingers together "You know, most ten-year old brats don't fantasize about ruling the world."

Lelouch chuckled" I think you're out of touch with your inner child Ruben. Plenty of brats dream of ruling the world, there just aren't many with an actual plan to make it come true. "

"Thank god for that." chuckled Ruben in response no doubt imagining a world run by little brats, chaos would be an understatement.

"Putting all joking aside I need to become a dictator to force through decisions fast enough to counter Britannia. A democracy may be better at a moderate government that serves the people but when hard decisions need to be made, it's infamous for dragging its feet. Once Britannia declares war on them or their allies they will see that my proposals hold a lot of merit, but by then it will be too late and they will be forced to play catch up. "

Ruben quirked an eyebrow "From my observations of the EU that will happen regardless because you can't come into power fast enough to reverse the trend and your stall tactic won't buy you enough time. "

"True, before I hold any measure of power I expect a large part of our African allies will be conquered but I already have an idea to turn that around."

"Oh and what have you come up with to create a miracle."

"Something I came up with while watching the science channel. But it will be most effective if I can place my preparations in Africa beforehand."

Ruben rubbed his chin ad he pondered the problem "The African federation's relation with the EU is a bit strained so they probably won't help each other. They will be a sacrificial piece meant to buy the EU time to build enough knightmares to resist the empire. The African federation knows this so they will be quite open to any suggestions or bribes."

"Bribes?" questioned Lelouch

Ruben shrugged "The African federation is quite famous for being corrupt in the higher levels of society. " Lelouch grimaced in distaste as he caught Ruben's meaning "With the destruction of the nation imminent, it will be easy to find some government officials willing to sanction any project in exchange for a big enough golden parachute to jump ship."

Lelouch thought it over "It will be best to bribe the required officials rather than actually explain to them what we are going to be doing. If word leaks out of my plan to the empire it will be beyond useless, if those tongues are as loose as you say than it would only be a matter of time."

"Indeed, so bribing it is then." agreed Ruben "What is the timetable I'm working with?"

"It won't be anytime soon so there is no need to burn money recklessly. It will take Britannia five years to recover and it will take one maybe two years to lay the groundwork. So start bribing lower ranked officials, so they can be in power in two and a half years. "

"Why not just go for the higher ranked ones now?"

"Because they have a higher price tag and will try to blackmail us in the meantime. They might not know what we will be doing but just knowing it's important to us, will make it valuable enough to sell to the empire."

"They might actually send spies to find out how you like your pancakes in the future." chuckled Ruben

Lelouch smirked "Yes I imagine my blueberry pancakes may suddenly taste a bit more like aconite, if I'm not careful."

"But how will you be certain those lower ranked ones, actually reach the necessary government office."

"The same way as every predecessor of mine was sure. Through a combination of blackmail, public scandal and assassination. "

The colour in Ruben's face drained a bit at that last word" Just character assassination or the wet one as well?"

"Both." said Lelouch resolutely while he stared unflinchingly into Ruben's eyes looking for any backtracking or cold feet.

"I see." Ruben sat back in his chair, pinched the bridge of his nose, and sighed "You know not so long ago I was planning my retirement by fulfilling a longstanding dream of mine instead of all this plotting."

"Oh what did you dream of?" asked Lelouch intrigued what this eccentric old man could possibly want more than anything else. Knowing a man's heartfelt desire was crucial in predicting them and manipulating them effectively. He hadn't thought Ruben would come right out and say it without any prompting.

"My dream was a school for commoners and nobles alike; it would be affordable for all but still prestigious enough to attract nobles."

"Did you intend to create greater understanding between the social classes?" asked Lelouch impressed with the man's vision. Though small in scale, it was nonetheless ambitious in concept and if it worked, it could set in motion a sentiment that would weaken the ideology propagated by the emperor.

"Very perceptive, yes I wanted to shatter the delusions nobles are under. They are spoon-fed lies since birth, and once they are grown-up most refuse to see the truth. They view everything through their rose-tinted windows and ignore what doesn't fit their vision. By subtly showing them the truth at a young age I thought I could breed out some of their arrogance and ignorance."

"A noble endeavour and I apologize for ruining your dream before you had a chance to even start, but I might give you a consolation prize."

"Oh don't worry it's only an old man's passing fancy but what did you have in mind?'

"A school along the same lines as you imagined but it will cater to social classes lower in status than you had initially envisioned."

"Hmm …I guess I can live with that. And I suppose they would need it even more than those foolish nobles."

Lelouch was unable to give a response when they heard someone knocking on the door.

"Enter." called Ruben

The door opened and revealed a Japanese looking maid standing behind it " Ah Sayako has the doctor finished his examination." Ruben greeted warmly

"He has and is waiting in the hallway to give his report to you himself." Ruben nodded in response and got up and Lelouch followed. They met up with the nervous looking doctor in the hallway. Lelouch wasn't sure how to take his nervousness. It was easily explained away with the current political situation but weren't doctors supposed to be able to fake confidence when needed to. The man's nervous ticks were creating a black pit in his stomach, as his fear for Nunnally's fate increased, now that he could no longer distract himself or put it off.

"So what is the verdict doctor?" asked Ruben who missed how Lelouch flinched at the word verdict.

The doctor glanced at them both quickly before his gaze settled on Ruben "I can't be one hundred percent sure without a full medical check up in a properly staffed and equipped hospital, but the girl is exhibiting symptoms associated with a permanent coma stemming from severe mental trauma."

"Wait are you saying she will never wake up again!" yelled Lelouch in shock

The man looked grim as he spoke "Not just that but there is a good chance she will die in her sleep. Despite popular media depicting people waking up from twenty-year comas, in reality that is only a small minority. Unless she wakes up within the next few weeks there is little chance of her ever waking up."

Lelouch dropped to his knees as he lost the strength to stand. He looked towards the doctor in disbelief waiting for the cruel punch line that it was all just a joke. Something he wouldn't have put past Carine but right now, he would gladly welcome her glee filled sadistic face if it only meant he could wake up from this nightmare.

But the sweet words promising release never came, instead came a flood of medical advice for how to best take care of Nunnaly, that he was in no state to properly process right now. Luckily, it looked like Ruben was on top of it and was asking several questions while he took notes. Well Sayako took notes at his direction but it came down to the same thing.

After the dreadful news had time to sink in Lelouch quietly excused himself to be alone for a while. Sadly, Milly didn't let him and was determined to cheer him up. Though he appreciated her attempts, she annoyed him more than anything else. But he supposed the anger and annoyance he felt due to her antics was still better than the soul crushing dread he felt whenever he thought about Nunnaly.

Lelouch didn't do much of anything as he waited two months for things to settle down and the talks with the EU to finalize. Ruben had been his representative and already had his marching orders, so he didn't need to intervene or even be present. He trusted Ruben and in his current state, he was more likely to screw things up anyways.

In the end, it took some extra bribes, but Lelouch got the royalty he wanted, and free access to the EU. Ruben had even managed to make some friendly relations with some politicians, to give them something to work with in the coming years.

* * *

**Author explanation**

It's long and not necessary to understand the story but might be interesting to some. It's mostly my notes to keep things straight in my own head. They are ordered by subject matter.

**Broadcast**

The public proclamation may seem stupid but it was necessary for the plot. Lelouch isn't trying to hide in obscurity like in cannon but is trying to go to the EU and fight Britannia with them. But he is still a Britannian prince so no one will trust him unless he proves himself. But no one in the EU would give him a chance and he can't bribe his way into acceptance.

He doesn't have the geass power yet, so the only way he could convince them to welcome him is by having the backing of the people. With this public proclamation, he is undeniably against Britannia. He simply did too much damage for a simple Britannian ploy and the people who are anti-Britannia love him for it. And with Britannia's expansionist policy and him stopping said expansion for a few years, he is a hero in his own right. With this he has a support base he can turn into his own army with which to fight Britannia.

But most importantly, he is now too well known and loved by the citizens of the EU for them to trade him in exchange for more favourable conditions in a peace treaty. They would lose a lot of votes if the politicians did that, so to preserve their jobs they won't unless Lelouch screws up publicly.

**Economic crises**

I cut out a lot of the details to prevent it from becoming boring and tripping myself over something that doesn't make sense in hindsight.

For clarification's sake, I'll explain what Lelouch did with the stocks that caused a recession. He used his princely allowance and inheritance from his mother to back a large number of call options. He placed the call price only just above the stock price inciting many nobles to buy them because they assumed they would skyrocket with the invasion of Japan looming just around the corner. When the Ashford's foundation's fall from grace was confirmed and the military contracts rescinded, the stock price plummeted. This meant that no one could collect on the call options but still paid a lot of money for them. This gave Lelouch a large amount of capital, which he could have bribed his way into the EU with. But he didn't want to rely on their mercy, so he crafted a plan to be independent of them for his own survival.

He bought stocks in the index companies and gave orders to sell stock in large quantities periodically that he rescinded every time. When he couldn't during the invasion, they went through and set in motion the freefall by overwhelming the buffer built into the economic system.

**Call option explanation**

A call option is the right to purchase a stock for a fixed price for a limited amount of time. So when the stock price goes above that fixed price you can purchase the stock, turn around, and sell it for a profit. But when the stock price plummets, it makes no sense to buy it at a higher price when no one wants to take it off your hands. The call option is a sellable good where the seller is obligated to sell the stock for the fixed price for the duration of the contract. The value of the call option depends on how much the difference between the stock price and the fixed price will be on the date you exercise it.

The more volatile the stock the more the option is worth because there's a higher chance of the stock price being higher than the fixed price. Because everyone thought the stock was going up because of the war, they paid a premium to buy them from Lelouch.

Call options and their counterpart the put options are basically betting where the stock price will go. Lelouch took advantage of it because as a prince he knew it would plummet in advance and because he is a prince, the emperor won't call him on it because it would taint the image of the royal family.

He basically abused his status as a prince after he disowned himself.

By the way, put options are the right to sell a stock for a fixed price, which are often used as an insurance policy against a stock crashing. In this case, Lelouch bought some put options in advance to sell his mother's stock after he was no longer obligated to sell the stock. This left him with a large profit from the call options and no losses thanks to his put options.

The Ashford's didn't do the same because it is illegal and as disgraced nobles, they would go to jail at best. Lelouch only got away with it because he was a prince, which bought him time before he had to face the music. The emperor would have killed him with some other excuse if he weren't already scheduled to die.

**Rant**

This is his first step to winning the war against Britannia because in my opinion war is about depriving your opponent of his resources. Once you do that, the nation can't function and has no choice but to surrender. But the definition of resources is very broad and can mean people, food equipment, infrastructure etc. But also intangible things like public confidence, morale and patriotic spirit, which affect other resources.

As Zero Lelouch fought a media war to increase his backing of the people while depriving it from the britannians. Which was why euphie's special zone was so devastating. It targeted his most precious resource, the Japanese people's approval. Without it, he couldn't keep going despite having soldiers, guns and money to wage war.

He could have kept on fighting but it would have never snowballed into the united federation of nations. He would achieve tactical victories but not a strategic one. It would force him to go after the most abundant resource Britannia had instead of the scarcest namely its soldiers and equipment. He could never kill enough soldiers in combat to force them to surrender because they could always draft honorary Britannian, if they were desperate. So he always intended to kill the emperor rather than the Britannian people. Not just because mass genocide is wrong but also because it was simply impractical.

For instance, the Nazi's were a minority in Nazi Germany and controlled the majority with force. Over the course of the war, the Nazi's got spread too thin after repeated battles, which took heavy losses on both sides. But the allied forces had more new soldiers to fill the holes while Germany had to abandon some posts because they simply didn't have the manpower to defend it. As soon as they declared war on the Soviet union, they lost because they had to fight on three fronts, the west south and east. Or in other words France, the North African desert and the frozen tundra of the Soviet Union.

They had superior training and equipment but they couldn't produce enough tanks and planes to keep up with the attrition costs and eventually lost. In a nutshell, they got out produced rather than out fought. When the allied forces took Berlin, it was defended by fifteen-year-old boys because they lacked the soldiers.

Basically, Lelouch would be Nazi Germany without public approval and out produced by his enemies though his intellect gives him superior troops. Like Rommel versus Montgomery where Rommel lead brilliant and daring attacks. Montgomery just blocked the channel depriving Rommel of supplies and build up his number of tanks until he could flatten Rommel. It went back and forth a couple of times but Rommel was always outgunned and outmanned. And eventually Montgomery won and crossed into Italy.

Lelouch always had his eye on the future. He knew he could never hold a country without the people backing him. He simply wanted to avoid guerrilla warfare and another coup attempt by taking the position of liberator. In china, Tohdoh and Li xinke got put in charge of crushing the rebels so it got glossed over but the fact that it could e glossed over indicates the success of his ploy to broadcast his conversation with the eunuchs.

Another important reason why I had Britannia have an economic crisis is to slow down the timeline. With less funds, they will delay funding the Research and development department. Charles may view ruling as too mundane but he can't be too arbitrary when the country faces potential ruin or face a rebellion. The reason for this is because Lelouch can't lead the European army when he is still a high school kid. Early twenties maybe but not a teenager. It was allowed in Japan because hiding your identity is more accepted in a terrorist cell and he proved his worth before they trusted him. In Lelouch stays in Britannia fics it is because he is a prince that he can assume command and then has to earn the trust of his men. In Europe, he has to earn the trust of his men before he can assume command.

I have some thoughts on how to make Lelouch his own personal army but he won't be accepted as a commander until he reaches adulthood. He either needs to move up the ranks or make many political moves to gain the ability to form his own army while still being supported by the politicians. Most likely, something along the lines of the W-O unit akito was a part off.

**Ashford defection**

The reason why I had the Ashfords defect was to limit the number of necessary OC creations to make the story in the EU work. For the same reason I opened the door for Jeremiah to join at a later date. It was also necessary for the selling of the knightmare blueprints to actually make sense. Lelouch could have gotten his hands on them without help from the Asfords but they would be blamed for it, if it became public that Lelouch sold them to the EU. Lelouch would know that in advance and he wouldn't have risked their lives like that for his ploy. So the only way for it to make sense was to include them into the defection plot. As stated before they didn't partake in illegal insider trading like Lelouch because they wouldn't get away with it like him. They would have immediately been sent to jail or executed, so they just helped with information gathering and talks with the EU. Nothing really incriminating so they could have backtracked up until Lelouch showed up at their door. And even then, they could have, so it was a leap of faith for Lelouch

**Nunnaly's coma**

I put Nunnaly in a coma because she has always been a stabilizing influence on Lelouch along with Suzaku and the student council. He will never join the original Ashford student council here and he blames Suzaku for Nunnally's coma so he has no one to pull him back from becoming evil.

I also had her kill three men to reinforce the notion that no one is completely innocent in Lelouch's mind. In cannon, he put the Japanese on a pedestal as if they could do no wrong while vilifying the britannians which makes sense since it's a Japanese show. But I don't want him to believe that the black knights can do no wrong.

This is because he was far too forgiving towards his betrayers. Most code geass fics argue he should have trusted his black knights more to prevent betrayal but I argue he should have trusted them less.

Finding out your leader has the power to control your every action has a instant knee-jerk reaction and that is rage no matter how you put it. It's like waking up in the morning and finding out you had sex with a guy because he drugged you. It violates your free will so much, that you'll want to kill the bastard.

And saying I'm going to rape other people but I, wont rape you isn't gonna cut it. Yeah they might forgive him because they hate Britannians with a passion but they will demand to know who he uses it on. When he then tells them he used it to kill general Katase, he is dead. When they find out he used it on Kallen and Viletta regardless of circumstance they will hate him for a while. And Tamaki will rile up the others because he is a populist. He will permanently lose their trust and the black knights will fall apart.

Nunnaly will still drive him but as the saying goes out of sight out of mind. The stark contrast Lelouch faced every time he came home served as a powerful reminder of why he was doing it all. It was his justification and he had to remain true to that to prevent himself from drowning in despair. It calmed him down and put his actions into perspective. If you hang around radical people all the time, you slowly become even more radical. The moderate views of the student council served to remind Lelouch that not all britannians were evil and to keep his restraint.

So I wrote the possibility for him to become more unhinged by not giving him any competing worldviews aside from the cult called the black knights. Not sure if I will follow up on it though.

So that's why I put Nunnaly in a coma. I originally intended for her to die but I found a use for her later on.


	6. Trading in your life supply

**Arc Two Establishing a Beach Head**

**Benjamin Disraeli ****"**** I must follow the people. Am I not their leader?****"**

**Chapter six Trading in Your Life Supply**

**End of Prologue,**

**Europe, France, Paris**

**Ten years later**

**Meeting of the Council of Forty**

Lelouch stoically stared at the scenery before him. He was thousands of miles away from his place of birth, yet he felt like he had not moved a single step.

"Feels familiar doesn't it Jeremiah."

Jeremiah agreed and then added softly "Dauntingly so."

Politicians mingling with other politicians, casually remarking and joking about the current problems facing the republic. However, they were not particularly interested in solving them for the sake of their constituents, but rather how to exploit them for their own gain.

In other words, it reminded him of home, and he could freely substitute the word politician with noble, and it wouldn't change much. Heck, most politicians were unofficial nobility here, thanks to the voting structure, which necessitated a fat bank account to pay for all the promotional ads.

Money was speech and fair representation was drowned out.

Only those with backing from special interests or rich families could afford to go into politics, because winning the popularity contests was too expensive for normal people.

It was a good thing he had the foresight to twist the politicians' arms enough in advance, to secure enough money to be a force to be reckoned with. If he hadn't, he would have been disregarded here, despite how good his ideas were.

But now that war was finally beginning in earnest, rather than the tepid cold war of the last couple of years, he was finally allowed to move freely.

He listened to the speaker trying to provoke a response from the council "The britannians have boldly gone for our jugular!" He got some muffled chuckles in return for being melodramatic." Oh you think I'm overreacting gentlemen, but you forget over thirty percent of our GDP, is dependent on trade with the Chinese federation.

If they succeed in blocking off trade with not just the African federation, but the Chinese one as well, by blocking the Suez channel. Well, then we might as well surrender now. Because we will be dealing with an economic crisis, at the same time as a war. Even Britannia with all its foolhardiness and arrogance, realized it couldn't do both!"

"Our economy isn't so reliant on passage through the Mediterranean sea that we can't survive without it. We can trade, using the railways through Russia just as easily." countered Bernard Pelletier a representative from France, Bourgogne.

Surprisingly a German from Bremen supported him" Besides they are arrogant and overstepped, their ambitious plan will ground to a halt against the African resistance with or without our help.

They already wizened up and avoided sailing past our fleet at Palermo by landing in Tunisia. Now they have to cross hundreds of miles through the desert with supplies they don't have and won't be able to obtain.

We can block them whenever we wish, because we have naval superiority. If anything, we have Britannia over the barrel. I suggest we discreetly negotiate with them about whether or not we will allow them to continue crossing into our territorial waters." Said Michael Schroder confidently with greed gleaming in his eyes.

He got some slight nods of approval in return.

The Dutch representative Peter de Vries was then given the floor "Might I remind you, that transport by train is far more expensive than by sea. It may be a satisfactory alternative but it will cut deeply into our profit margins."

He had tried to strike directly at their wallets, well portfolios, to get them to snap to their senses. But sadly, everyone took it with a pinch of salt because it was well known that the Netherlands relied on trade heavily, and had the largest port on the continent. If sea trade were cut off, then the Dutch would suffer the most.

"Yes well, I would like to hear from a military perspective." said Bernard Pelletier "I'm still confused why the britannians would choose to invade the North of Africa, which is all desert, while the south is far richer. They could close the Suez channel just as easily from there.

General Juan Ruiz spoke up "The britannians are rushing, because they know their technological advantage is shot. Thanks to the delay caused by prince Lelouch" Here he gave a subtle nod towards where Lelouch was seated, which those in the know would recognize.

"Rather than pussyfooting around, and slowly gaining ground and consolidating it over the course of years. They have chosen to cut us off, from our allies so they can deal with them alone. They know, we will be sending them aid indirectly and thus lengthening the war.

They know that every month they waste, is one more month we have, to build up our forces. They know we are already roughly equal in knightmares and they can't afford to get stuck in quagmire, while we grow stronger. They want to steam roll the Africans, because they still believe they have the strength for it. So long as we stay out of it."

Schroder spoke up "They have been rather stingy haven't they, with their military spending."

Peter de Vries agreed, "I think their frosty relationships with us after our latest debt reduction conference, have made them rather reluctant to buy from our European knightmare companies. " He paused to let the full meaning sink in.

"Maybe we should pardon some of their debts, so they can afford to buy some more knightmares. It'll delay the britannians like general Ruiz recommended. We can just ship them through the Middle Eastern Federation if the Mediterranean becomes unstable"

Pelletier nodded "Thankfully the Middle Eastern Federation still hates the empire more than us, so it should be doable. But which country should write of their loans, if I remember right the Netherlands owns a sizeable amount of micro credit loans, but no loans to the state." making a subtle accusation that the Netherlands were trying to force the other members to shoulder the debt while they skimped on it.

Peter de Vries looked slightly uncomfortable. "Well yes, we believe micro credit is better at improving the economy, trickle down effect you see. We would off course be willing to pardon our loans but they're a rather small slice of the pie, so maybe Germany will be better at making a dent in it."

Michael Schroder did not look amused "I off course would need to confer with our treasury department and poll the willingness of the people to accept the burden of Africa. I suggest we discuss it at our next meeting after we check some facts" deferred Schroder because he didn't have the same stake.

A unanimous agreement was soon found and the debt pardoning was set on the agenda for next week or maybe next month if they ran out of time.

And on it went, this meeting that was supposedly called, to discuss how to best deal with the situation. However, he preferred to call it 'how to best prolong the situation for as long as possible while we play both sides'.

He sneered down at them from his balcony seat as he wondered how they played so easily into Schneizel's hand. Their obsession with money was going to be the death of the EU.

So far, they had agreed to blackmail the britannians and pardon debts to the state, so Africa could purchase knightmares from companies they held shares in.

He even wondered if they were planning to short stocks relating to the sea trade. It would certainly explain their apathy in trying to save it, or maybe they held a stake in the Russian railways. He would have to ask Ruben to do some digging for him.

"Would you like some tea sir?" asked Jeremiah

Lelouch nodded and Jeremiah turned to instruct Sayako to fetch them some tea while they remained seated and watched over the proceedings. Jeremiah didn't trust any maid other than Sayako not to poison him. If she wasn't available, he would do it himself.

"So do you think the council will send an army to reinforce the battered remains of the 75th regiment?" asked Jeremiah conversationally

Lelouch sighed, "Britannia hasn't blocked the Suez channel yet, so their business interests aren't endangered, which would make that a no Jeremiah."

"We could make an appeal ourselves to send troops to protect our access to the _African markets_." suggested Jeremiah hinting at the many mines scattered across the continent.

"North Africa doesn't have any mines except for phosphate, they are more known for their oil which is an outdated source of energy. No the North of Africa doesn't have any significance economically speaking and the mines from western and southern Africa can be reached through ship until Britannia reaches the next stage of their plan.

It simply doesn't have enough economic power to make sending an army worthwhile. They fear bringing war to European shores more, than losing trade deals. " countered Lelouch after thinking over the merits of his proposal.

"Then how do you intend to goad them into acting? "Wondered Jeremiah aloud and then warned, "The preparations are in place as instructed and should withstand discovery for some time but it will be found out eventually."

"Indeed, as soon as the dust settles, and they start interrogating former government officials. They will discover the bread crumbs leading to our trap." agreed Lelouch casually

He watched as a speaker openly asked the member state representatives to volunteer to provide the troops necessary to expel the britannians from African soil. None of the member state representatives raised their hands, because none wanted to explain to their constituents why they sent their fathers, brothers and sons off to their deaths.

They still suffered from a severe case of 'it's not my problem so why should I pay for it'. Unless they united their armies under one banner and faced the reality of unavoidable casualties, this aversion would give all of Europe to Schneizel with barely a fight.

Lelouch then answered Jeremiah's first question. "It's simple we don't."

"Huh, I'm afraid I don't follow my lord."

Lelouch sighed in exasperation "How many times must I tell you not to address me with a noble honorific Jeremiah. "

Jeremiah flinched slightly at the reprimand "I apologize sir."

It seemed he simply couldn't let go of addressing him as a prince despite having years to learn. It didn't really matter to Lelouch personally, but he loathed giving away any valuable information to casual eavesdroppers.

"No matter, as I was saying, we won't include the EU because they are too sluggish to act. Instead, we will use our personal force to defeat the Britannian army."

Jeremiah paled "With all due respect sir, there is no way those refugees you bound to your cause, will be enough to defeat them in open combat."

Lelouch sighed again, but this time in annoyance "If everything goes to plan, then there will be no need to Jeremiah."

"I'll admit the plan is good, but there is no plan that survives contact with the enemy sir." Jeremiah reprimanded gently but firmly.

Lelouch shrugged "We'll see." He got up and made ready to leave "I've seen all I needed to here, anymore time spent here will be a waste of time." He gestured at the gathering of politicians below them who had started a repetitive cycle in their rhetoric

"Sayako I trust you to acquire a copy of the minutes of the rest of the meeting, so I can peruse it at a later date at my leisure." He would go over the notes just in case he missed something new or to analyze the current power structure.

Sometimes just noticing someone always shutting up whenever someone else tried to speak would tell you a lot about their power relationship. However, more importantly, the person feeling forced to shut up would undoubtedly feel some resentment and that could be a valuable opening if Lelouch needed to manipulate him.

However, something subtle like that was hard to see unless you took diligent notes and studied them excessively while taking into consideration how much he cared about the topics discussed.

It basically came down to educated guesses, but some guidelines were still better than walking into high stakes negotiations blind.

"Very well master Lelouch." Sayako responded with a bow

Jeremiah followed in his lord's wake "Where are we headed now?"

Lelouch grinned "I'm going to the Ashford University."

Jeremiah grimaced at that.

"Oh come on Jeremiah, they aren't that bad." said Lelouch while stifling a chuckle at Jeremiah's expression.

Though he didn't blame him because it had to be extremely boring for a grown man to be stuck inside a high school filled with hormonal teenagers as a gym teacher, and now as a janitor among hormonal college students. Lelouch personally didn't mind that much because he saw it as an extension of his work.

"I just don't see why you have to waste your time with those plebeians. You could teach half the courses you are following better than the teachers themselves."

Grumbled Jeremiah openly

Lelouch raised an eyebrow; Jeremiah didn't usually criticize how he spent his time. Whether it was gambling for a cheap thrill or wooing some girl for a night of fun.

"People need to feel connected to their leaders Jeremiah, but also know they are capable as well. By creating and attending Ashford academy and its associated university, I'm striking several flies with one stone."

"Yes I get the loyalty and brainwashing part, but there is no need to be friends with them, just some speeches would suffice."

Lelouch shook his head "No that is the wrong kind of power Jeremiah."

"Wrong?" repeated Jeremiah in confusion "Isn't any kind of power good?"

"No there are different types of power and the one you're suggesting has it's foundation in authority. I have power now, because I'm the student vice president and hold the other end of the contract they signed, though they don't know it.

But that power is given to me; like a policeman or teacher. Once you remove the role, then you no longer need to obey them. If I want to accomplish my goals, then that kind of power isn't enough. "

Jeremiah still didn't understand "They agreed to serve you for at least four years in exchange for schooling; their obedience is already bought with that. What more could you need?"

"Obedience Jeremiah, not loyalty as you said it yourself. However, that need to obey is primarily to the EU and my legitimacy is derived from the EU. So I can never act against them, if I rely solely on it.

I need other sources of power, but above all else I need charismatic power, they need to love me and follow me to the ends of the earth!" explained Lelouch as he walked to his car.

He continued "As it stands, the only way out of the internment camps for refugees is to take the admittance test for Ashford academy and sign the contract or join the W-O unit and die for your family."

"A choice between life with you or death and imprisonment with the EU huh." summarized Jeremiah.

"Exactly, they know that Europeans look down on them and won't hire them as _numbers_. So instead, they pledge their service for the maximum amount to the Aegis Corporation and by extension me as its sole shareholder."

"Which gives you a steady stream of educated people to work for you, but none of them will lay down their lives for you. They may be grateful for all you have done for them, but they will turn their back on you without a second thought."

Lelouch laughed at that "Off course not, and I never expected them to. I just merely needed a loyal enough workforce, to form the backbone and infrastructure of my future army."

"They're engineers mostly and while they are useful as combat support. They don't make an army by themselves" commented Jeremiah.

"True the other piece of the puzzle belongs to my only competitor in the market for cheap and loyal labor, Miss Leila Malcal."

"Do you intend to recruit her and subvert the W-0 unit through her?" asked Jeremiah.

Lelouch thought it over "Perhaps, but for now I prefer my Letter of Marquee plan. The politicians have already have shown themselves to be morally bankrupt enough to accept it.

When they rubberstamped the W-0 unit plan. "Lelouch scowled for a second "I feared using refugees as cannon fodder in exchange for giving their families a comfortable lifestyle would have gotten me thrown out of the room.

However, Leila Malcal paved the way and has shown me, there is nothing to worry about. So long as I phrase it, in terms of how it would be advantageous politically speaking."

"But the Letter of Marquee allows ordinary citizens to wage war on enemies of the state. How could you possibly spin, letting citizens die on their watch as a good thing?"

"Simple, I will add a sentence clearly allowing refugees to participate as well, allowing them to come to the conclusion that it will affect refugees only. They'll think it will just be a follow up on the W-0 plan to give them more political cover in case the public starts questioning it."

"That won't be enough, the politicians won't risk drawing more attention to it, that easily, without a clear benefit on top." criticized Jeremiah

" Agreed, so I'll need to stir up the citizens into demanding the politicians to do something about Britannia, but that won't happen until open war breaks out with Britannia in earnest. "

"Patriotic spirit combined with desperation huh?" summarized Jeremiah again

"Yes, once Britannia lands on European soil, even the most indifferent citizen will accept whatever measure to keep them at bay. It'll give me the legal excuse I need, to build my own personal army and right under their noses."

"The military will resist your plan heavily, it gives you free range to act outside their chain of command." spoke Jeremiah from experience.

Lelouch shrugged "A hollow promise to submit to their authority will pacify them, until I no longer need them. They fear amateurs messing up their carefully crafted plans by ruining a feint or diversion, or just getting killed by the dozens."

"A valid concern in case other idiots fancy themselves the next Napoleon. Ragtag groups will form and die, without accomplishing anything."

"Not quite, their death will bring home the seriousness of the situation, and by comparison I will look like a beacon of hope among a sea of despair. They will rally to me, without me even making an appeal."

Jeremiah raised another point "If and that's a big if, the politicians don't immediately retract the legislation once they see the casualty reports!"

"I'll just have to give them hope first, so they'll cling to it like a lifeline, despite everything else saying something different. I'll prove that civilians can make a difference on the modern battlefield.

Even if I have to manipulate the outcome, or just lie outright about civilian involvement in an important battle to brush their concerns aside. "

Jeremiah seemed shocked for a second but he regained his composure and just kept on walking. "But you can't be directly associated with it or else they would smell something is off. "He realized "And that's where operation QUICKSAND comes in, it'll easily accomplish that, without leaving any traces of our involvement."

Lelouch nodded at Jeremiah's correct conclusion, got into the car and waited for Jeremiah to start driving.

* * *

**Ashford university, parking lot**

"So Lelouch, you finally decided to grace us with your presence!"  
Milly Ashford loudly welcomed him as soon as he stepped out of car.

"Well Madam President, I do need to keep up my attendance." countered Lelouch with a smile, though he wondered if Milly had ordered campus security to alert her whenever he showed up.

Milly smiled crookedly "That would be more convincing, if you weren't one absence away from repeating the entire year."

That was an exaggeration, he only needed to repeat two courses because they had a mandatory attendance in certain classes. This only emphasized how much he had skipped classes lately.

"All the more reason for me to keep it up." Lelouch countered calmly

"You know, you might want to invest a bit more time in your school going persona." advised Milly. At Lelouch's raised eyebrow, she continued "Gossip travels fast and all these students pass it back to their families and from there it spreads to the other refugees."

"I didn't know I was such a subject of interest for so many people." Lelouch noted dryly, though inwardly he cursed that he was neglecting the part he just lectured Jeremiah about.

Milly scoffed at that "You single-handedly saved their country even if they don't realize it yet and are the only option they have of escaping the internment camps unless they want to die for the EU.

You're already a hero to them whether you like it or not, but your image needs some work. When they finally put the pieces together, they need to go 'Oh that makes sense' and not 'Wait that guy, are you sure? '. You're a larger than life figure for most of these students and you need to fit into their preconceived notions or they might balk."

Lelouch listened intently to her lecture but was getting slightly impatient. "Do you want to give me some free advice Milly? "

Milly got right in his face and mock glared at him "Now who said anything about free mister!"

Lelouch sighed and gave in "Fine I'll increase your spending budget, so you can organize that festival about, what was it again?"

"Sheesh Lelouch you're the vice president you need to know these things. And that's just what I was talking about. People know you as a stoic mysterious guy who can pull a lot of strings. It is enough to get all the girls on campus in a tizzy about who has the right to date you. But it won't inspire them to follow you as a ruler."

"So you're suggesting a word of mouth campaign right here, in Ashford University to rehabilitate my image" clarified Lelouch

"Exactly you need to do some meet and greets. Give people the impression you know them personally, to make them feel connected. And publicly date some girls doesn't matter who, just to show you do have some feelings and aren't a complete robot."

Lelouch suddenly stopped walking and asked " Do people think I'm a robot?" perceived callousness was a sure-fire way to alienate his men and had to be stopped before it took root. If he allowed it to fester now, he may never be able to remove it and it would definitely bite him in the ass later.

Milly shook her head "No they just think you're apathetic and bored, but that is only a stone throw away, from making you into a heartless and ruthless commander, who would sacrifice his soldiers like pawns in droves. "

"But I'm not intending for any of these people to become my soldiers, just my bureaucrats. They don't need to have undying loyalty to me; just enough to stick by me when the going gets tough and my enemies dangle a better offer in their face"

Milly put her arm around Lelouch's shoulders "I know that Lelouch, but you can never have enough loyalty, trust me."

"Fine, I guess you have a point. So how do I remedy the situation?"

Milly got that conspiratorial glint in her eye "Well, I was thinking, you acting out the role of Romeo, in our upcoming play would be a nice start. "

Lelouch gave her a blank look "You just made all that stuff up to get me to agree to sign up for the play didn't you? " He accused

Milly shrugged and proudly admitted, "Yes I did, but just because I made it up doesn't mean it isn't true!"

Lelouch groaned internally in recognition that Milly's mad genius might have actually struck gold, even if it was unintentionally "Yes I suppose you are right."

"So you'll play Romeo." Milly confirmed rather than asked, "Be sure to stop by this week to get your measurements right for your costume." Milly snickered "We wouldn't want your pants to be too tight, now would we."

She walked away before he got another word in, but then he realized there was a kiss scene "Hey wait who is playing Juliet!" He yelled after her

All he got in answer was Milly's insane cackle and something about an auction.

* * *

**Ten minutes later, **

"Sayako did you get a copy of the minutes of the meeting of the Central Hemicycle" asked Lelouch on the phone.

"Good, once you upload them with the others. I want you to disguise yourself as a college student and infiltrate an auction."

"Yes I know that sounds ridiculous but they are auctioning off my lips, so it is important!"

"No you don't need to do that Sayako. I would never force you to do that."

"Even if it is your honor and pleasure as a ninja, I still prefer my lips to be freely given instead of being governed by rules and honor codes. "

"Thank you for your understanding Sayako. Once you are done, I need you to board a plane, disguise yourself as me, and create a few fake sightings of me in Asia. "

A random student yelled "Lelouch lunch break is almost over, hurry up or you're gonna be late!"

"Hold on for a minute Sayako."

"I'm coming; I just need to wrap this up real quick!" Lelouch yelled back to the student and put the phone back to his ear to hear Sayako's response.

"No I won't be going. I'm heading to Africa but I need the emperor of my back for a while. Those assassination attempts get really annoying when I have to focus."

"Yeah I agree if the empire gets word that I'm in hostile territory they'll probably send more than I can chew, which is why I need you to plant a convincing trail."

"No don't meet with anyone important or the empire might send assassins to clean them up. I might need them in the future so restrict yourself to scouting out locations that might be useful as a battleground in the future or places I might need to infiltrate. Nothing incriminating though, just keep it to overly enthusiastic tourism. "

"Yes with some luck the OSI will be so busy crafting contingency plans for all of that, that they won't notice me playing in their own front yard."

"Glad you approve Sayako. Now once you're done, return as discreetly as possible through the Middle Eastern federation. That should shake them of your trail and give them a scapegoat to look into before you re-enter the EU. Once you do, meet up with Ruben and protect him until you receive further orders."

"Goodbye Sayako and good luck."

Lelouch just started walking towards his next class when he heard the second bell. "Well there goes being on time for chemistry. "Chuckled Lelouch

* * *

**Author notes**

**Ashford program**

Lelouch is basically taking advantage of discrimination in a positive way. I firmly believe support personnel are just as valuable if not more so than front line soldiers.

A well run army can be more efficient than a larger one that's poorly managed in terms of food, weapons, ammunition, transport, clothing, shelter, fuel, medical supplies and miscellaneous.

Just imagine hundred thousand soldiers with only a single clip of ammo who are starving, sick, cold and had to walk for miles to get to the battlefield against twenty thousand with unlimited supplies.

Also without proper support you can suffer more casualties off the battlefield than on it. So therefore Lelouch will create a basic backbone and infrastructure for his army first.

The Germans who fought in the Soviet Union had a choice between warm clothing and ammo every time a supply train came. They had attacked in their summer uniforms, meaning they were freezing to death while the Russians had a uniform so resistant to cold, they barely felt it. The Germans had to light a fire underneath their tanks, so the engine would defrost enough for it to start. The roads were unpaved meaning in the summer they were a swamp and they were actually more traversable in the winter. All supply side problems and that's without taking into consideration the scorched earth tactic of the Soviet Union.

So yeah I prefer a small well managed army over a large one that's practically dying without any outside assistance.


	7. Maneuvering Into Position

**Arc Two, Chapter Seven Maneuvering Into Position**

**North Africa, Tunisia, Sfax**

**Thirty Five kilometers from the front lines with Britannia inside an underground bunker,**

**A week later **

Lelouch browsed over the map detailing the placement of his little surprise as a way to kill time. He already knew the map by heart; he had designed it after all. The real question was if everything still worked like it was supposed to, after all these years of inactivity.

Lelouch posed the question to one of his technical support staff in the command centre. "So are the systems still intact?"

"Yes they are sir. " confirmed a eager employee who had been one of the first to sign up for his 'education program'. "But do you really think this will work?"

" Of course" nodded Lelouch " Every time someone organizes a large group, there will be some chaos and confusion. In war lives hang in the balance, so it only gets increased. Many generals have tried to reduce it by employing standard protocols and double checking everything, but they never eliminated it."

Lelouch saw he had the attention of the whole room now focused on him " Once the battle is joined by the African remnants and the Britannian vanguard. The fog of war will descend upon them yet again, and their generals will be struggling to keep up with events."

He walked up to the wall-size map hanging on the right side of the room to point out key positions for both armies. Despite the anachronism he had insisted on having a actual map in the room. Because nothing beats an actual paper map, when you had to look at the big picture in a fraction of a second.

"The Africans are desperate and likely to use traps and the Britannians are now overconfident and likely to give chase. A perfect cover story for our involvement is already written and the starting conditions are cleared." Lelouch proudly exclaimed to his civilian subordinates, who had never held a gun in their lives.

Let alone some decent military training, but they were loyal and eager to strike a blow on Britannia. But none of them really wanted to risk their own life, so when he offered them a chance to do so from a safe distance away, they all jumped at the chance.

Though he had been annoyed five years ago when Britannia re-conquered Japan, because possession of the Sakuradite mines could be the tipping point in the war. He couldn't argue with all the willing recruits he got from it.

They were also willing to break EU laws with only a little convincing. They never really accepted them to begin with, thanks to the EU's lackluster treatment of them.

In a small part of his brain he secretly just loved it, when everyone crapped all over a oppressed people even more, it made binding them to his cause so easy.

"Commander, sensors are reporting that the britannians are moving up their lines, to engage the Africans!"

Lelouch smiled at the unnecessary announcement as he could watch it on the tactical map himself. But these things needed to be said, so everyone knew they were on the same page. Confusion became infectious when people didn't voice out their actions. So to prevent uncertainty about whether or not something was done or not, they built in a ridiculous amount of redundancy.

Lelouch watched the britannians' first wave probe the African positions and get repulsed easily, because the Africans had the field advantage with their embedded positions.

"Why are they still using the Glasgow despite the fact that they already have a better model designed to fight against other knightmares?" wondered Jeremiah out loud as he observed the African Glasgow variant kill the originals.

" There are probably two reasons for that Jeremiah. First off is their inability to freely interchange parts with the glasgows. They can't custom repair special units during a crucial operation, when they don't provide a overwhelming advantage over their predecessor. The new Sutherlands are good but a skilled pilot can still even the odds between them. "explained Lelouch casually for the benefit of the room rather than Jeremiah because he already knew this.

In fact he had instructed Jeremiah to pitch him this question casually during the opening phases of the operation. It would reassure his men that he knew what he was doing and it would fill in their gaps of knowledge without making them feel like idiots. They would lose some respect for Gottwald, but that was negligible in the grand scheme of things.

"Secondly they are afraid of a repeat of the 'Japan incident'. _Where they believed _Japanese forces captured, reengineered their frames and sold them to the rest of the world before they could press their technological superiority. They lack the logistics to salvage all the wrecks. So they will be forced to abandon Sutherlands if they use them."

And there he put in the seed that he was the one who actually sold the EU the knightmare blueprints by placing some condescension in his voice when he said 'where they believed'.

They wouldn't realize he said it, but a few would start wondering and starting rumors and further build his image. His graduates knew he started the crisis, so selling the blueprints sounded credible enough.

"I see that is quite smart strategically speaking, but the men in the rank and file must be cursing their commander's name." commented Jeremiah

And that put some warm feelings in his subordinates' chests , convincing them that they were appreciated enough, because they were nice and comfy even during a war zone. In fact he might just turn the air conditioning up a notch to drive the point home.

"True and they are about to get more than ample ammunition to do so." chuckled Lelouch darkly

" Indeed, even with their numerical superiority, they seem to be having trouble breaking through their lines."

"it's a problem specific to desert warfare that you wouldn't realize unless you had experience or did the research." shrugged Lelouch "It's called refraction, which means that light gets bend over distances longer than 1500 meters." seeing even Jeremiah was looking a bit lost he decided to explain it in full

" The effect of refraction during the day time causes the target to appear ½ a target downwards and so you need to correct that amount upwards. It's why their shots keep hitting just in front of the Africans, and kicking up more sand cover for them, making it hard for the britannians to adjust by trial and error. It's solved easily enough by taking a position ten meters above intervening terrain but they don't have that luxury with those artillery batteries on top of the biggest sand dunes in the area."

" Wait does that mean they're helpless against the Africans" asked one of the puzzled civilians.

Lelouch shook his head " Far from it, they just need to close within 1500 meters and it's effect will be marginal at best. But right, now they're shooting at ghost targets and even their laser targeting equipment is getting bend."

"Hmm but they don't seem to be charging recklessly to get within range. I don't think they actually realize what the problem is?" observed Jeremiah

Lelouch had been watching the tactical screen as well and had to agree. " My guess is they don't know or they are waiting for cloud cover."

" Cloud cover? " questioned Jeremiah

Lelouch didn't blame him it wasn't a strictly military term but rather a meteorological term." Refraction needs clear skies to work Jeremiah, specifically less than 3/8 cloud cover. So turn on the news and see if any clouds are coming our way"

The highly trained soldier turned on the television in the corner and started flipping through the channels to look for one about the weather. Lelouch could hear him mumbling about something, but it didn't sound like insubordination. If anything he seemed to be ranting about the inflated reputation of the Colchester institute.

Before Jeremiah finally found a weather channel one of the civilians piped up " I found a weather site online. It says there are some clouds coming our way in three hours."

Lelouch thanked the man for his initiative while Jeremiah silently grumbled. " So that points towards them biding their time until the refraction wears off, though it doesn't explain why they moved up their execution time?"

" How thick is that cloud cover Mcavoy?" asked Jeremiah seemingly on to something

" Its long and thin, meaning it will only cover the area for half an hour at most, sir. "

" Hmm so they're getting into position, so they don't miss their narrow window." realized Jeremiah.

Lelouch nodded " They probably realize the reduced speed of knightmares in the desert and are willing to risk some losses for a more advantageous position from which to start their coordinated assault."

" I don't even know why they insisted on knightmares in the first place. Everyone knows that agility is key in the desert. Though the knightmare is king in that regard on paper, in the desert it's another story. Their weight isn't well distributed and as a result they sink into the soft sand, not enough to get completely bogged down but they would have been better off using a tank."

Lelouch shrugged " Blame the nobility's obsession with being armchair generals. They spend more time romanticizing war than actually studying it, so they might not even know that. They just know that the nobility heroically charged into Japan and conquered it with nearly no casualties.

They want a repeat of that, to gain more glory and everyone knows it."

Lelouch frowned "It's the primary reason why the Africans are so unprepared. They didn't think Britannia would use their knightmares in the desert and Britannia already decommissioned their conventional weapons, giving them the illusion they were untouchable."

"Hmm I thought their solution of creating narrow walkways in the desert where the knightmares could use their land spinners was quite inspired." mumbled a civilian operator

"Off course it was, I whispered it into the general's ear when I realized they weren't going to buy more Bamimedes. But those roads built in the desert were more expensive than just coughing up the money for the knightmares. But building infrastructure in the desert to improve the economy sounded more palatable to the people."

" Still, the effect should be similar to the trenches of the great European war. They should be able to hold out for years with little troops, unless Britannia is willing to throw away their troops in a desperate attempt to overwhelm them." countered Jeremiah

Lelouch sighed " You forget the Africans didn't have time yet, to place anti air guns in the whole desert. Nor did I expect them to, with that vast expanse to cover, it would be very cost ineffective. But the end result is that Britannia can easily bypass their line of defense by airdropping units behind their lines. "

"So it's all show and no substance then?"

"Well It could have worked quite well, if they had gotten their act together and emplaced those anti air guns. It would have been a death trap and probably will be one, by the time the britannians reach el Alamein.

But for now the britannians will drop in from behind, destroy their combat support and blow up their fuel depots and water tanks. Once that happens they practically have no choice but to surrender."

" Hmm that tactic sounds a whole lot more effective than I remember learning about, in the military academy" pondered Jeremiah

"That's because traditionally it's done with soldiers not knightmares and they had to go in light and were often engaged by garrisoned troops. They still caused a lot of chaos but lacked the supplies to hold their ground."

"Hmm the same applies to the knightmares with their limited energy supply, but the Africans won't have the capability to destroy the knightmares that deep within their lines with all of their knightmares tied up at the front. "

"Exactly, the Britannians think they will be free to wreak havoc at their supply lines and have the trenches collapse in on itself once they run out of energy."

" Hmm a classic diversion and sneak attack then." summarized Jeremiah

"Correct but the beauty of it for us is that they will be landing on one of our prepared sites and they will go radio silent to prevent the Africans from getting wind of them."

* * *

**Three days before the britannian attack**

**Doctor Ashanti pov**

**Port town Sfax**

" That's going to cost you at least 5000 dinars " said Ashanti dispassionately to the soldier in her office

The soldier gritted his teeth and clenched his fist before he erupted " That's an outrage, I could just rub onions in my eyes and get MEDEVAC that way!"

Ashanti just stared him down, the soldier realized their relative bargaining positions and calmed down a bit.

" The britannians didn't use mustard gas, so anyone with a brain will deny your sick leave. I however can provide you with _official _paperwork that gives you a _legitimate _reason for desertion." She put some extra emphasis on official and legitimate, and let him soak in the full implications, before she continued " And best of all, they can't disclaim my diagnosis without a state of the art hospital."

The soldier fidgeted in his seat a bit, but the reminder that it was this, or desertion would soon make him see things her way.

" Can't you lower the price a bit, that's practically all I have." He bargained.

Ashanti however wasn't moved, by the selfishness of the soldier. Didn't he get, that for every man she helped, it became that much more suspicious.

Never mind the fact that he was asking her, to let him abandon a whole city of a hundred thousand innocent civilians, to the whims of the britannians. The nerve of the man!

" I won't and I won't accept credit either, so don't bother asking. If you can't come up with the money, then we're done here. Please see yourself out."

The man looked agitated and his eyes flicked to his side arm.

Ashanti pretended not to notice while she fingered her own pistol strapped to the underside of her desk. " I said get out, I have other patients waiting from the 75th regiment."

The man seemed startled, probably with the realization that there were half a dozen armed soldiers waiting just outside the door, with a big stake in keeping her alive. After all, how were those healthy young men going to get declared unfit for duty, if not by her?

The soldier excused himself and mumbled something about trying to get the money, but she barely listened to him.

If he didn't have it now then he wouldn't have it in time for the siege. Unless he robbed someone, she doubted he could scrounge it together.

Well if worst came to worst, he would probably shoot himself in the foot or take a bad fall on purpose and get declared the normal way.

* * *

**Former viscount Jack Curtis pov**

Jack threw his phone against the wall while cursing his frugality. He had justified it at the time as being cautious.

After all people got agitated if someone bribed the key officials before they got to know the man. But his penny pinching had screwed him over big time.

The bloody britannians were practically at his doorstep and his friends at the admiralty hadn't even given him a fucking courtesy call.

He spotted his wife lugging another suitcase out of her room, so she could make room to pack another. He refrained from telling her to pack only the essentials.

It would only start another row and he frankly didn't have the time for it. He would just tell her his servants would take them, while keeping quiet about the fact that it would probably end up getting stolen.

Being robbed by his own servants! So much for living like a king!

It was the prince's revenge all over again. No warning! Just a tidal wave of anger and resentment, just this time not from the commoners and the royal family.

No he had the _luck_, it was just the emperor and his fucking army. He would have preferred the unruly mob any day, if the alternative was trained soldiers.

" Calm yourself Jack, and take inventory of the situation and then calmly decide the best course of action." said Jack to himself to calm himself down.

The words his father used to say to him, when he was but a mere boy still worked to this day. Albeit with a somewhat diminished effect, without his father's calm soothing voice.

Okay, he was wanted for charges of treason and was persona non grata with his former friends. His assets were scattered over several banks but mostly in Europe.

His attempt to carve out a little fiefdom for himself through bribery had failed, mostly because there were larger fish in the pond, with deeper pockets.

He had already decided to cut his losses but he probably couldn't get out of town in time. Which meant he had to hide somewhere and escape once the dust settled.

Okay that meant bribes for the port authority to arrange a ship for him later and some normal family who could hide him in their basement or something.

His mansion was too conspicuous and would draw any looters like moths to a flame.

But if this family knew his identity then they could leverage it against him. He didn't relish getting blackmailed by peasants. So he had to pretend to be a peasant for a while.

His wife was going to kill him when he had to tell her to wipe coal dust on her face and walk hunchbacked like a old woman. Well, maybe she wouldn't, if he could come up with some convincing story about how they would rape her, because of how ravishing she was.

It would be a bold faced lie but he didn't care. Heck he didn't care when he married her either. All he could see were the pounds, so he didn't mind if she put some on.

He loved money above all else and he had found fellow believers in this little slice of heaven where everything was for sale. But now, those heretics who didn't care about money, but foolish things like: pride, honor, glory and appearances were coming to ruin it, once again.

Maybe he should have bought a private army? Maybe he still could?

* * *

**Village Boy pov**

He shifted the water jug on his back a bit to ease his strained muscles. But he didn't put it down and take a breather, no he kept on walking.

He needed to stockpile supplies for the siege, just like everyone else. If he dallied, then he would become a target for those who already fortified their house.

He grunted with the effort but he couldn't stop. Without this water, he would die as would his family.

There was no telling how long this siege was going to last but relief wasn't coming. The old men in the coffee shop said the fleet was being repaired in Alexandria and thus couldn't escort any supply ships.

The Europeans could, but that might provoke a war with Britannia.

He didn't get how simply guarding merchant ships was allying with the African federation. Or why they even shied away from allying with them, when they had sworn to do so since before he was born.

"Politics!" He cursed under his breath

They were more concerned with doing what looked right than what was right!

If he had been president of the EU, then he would have declared war already and sent his entire army to help out his countrymen. But then again he might be biased, he chuckled to himself.

Though it was hard not to be, as he passed through 'quarter to eight o'clock ' square. He didn't remember the proper name and he doubted anyone except the old guys at the coffee shop knew what it was called before the great European war.

The clock tower had been bombed then by a air strike, and no one bothered to fix it. Lack of funds they said, and he couldn't argue with that, seeing he was starving when he heard it.

But they hadn't bombed it, the Europeans had! When they were caught up in their war, that for some reason had to engulf Africa as well.

"Strategic value!" He spat

There was nothing but sand and rocks for miles around.

And those politicians wondered, how the radical movement was gaining strength in Africa.

* * *

**Italo Calvino: ****'****For many of my contemporaries it had been solely a question of luck which determined what side they should fight on.****'**

* * *

****Three days later****

**Britannia mobile command **

**General Calares pov**

"Transmission coming through sir."

General Calares nodded as he braced himself for the prime minister of the Holy Britannian empire and his greatest detractor.

But the prince appeared on the screen with a warm smile, like he was greeting an old friend.

" Hello general, I hope I didn't catch you at a bad time?"

" Not at all, the fight has yet to start in earnest, just some probing and feints for now." He replied back affably

" Oh good, I worried you might have already taken over the town."

General Calares was confused, was he being recalled, after already engaging the Africans?

That couldn't be, if they retreated now, then the sanctions to pacify the Africans would be just as costly as just continuing the war. He had ruined them, at the strait of Gibraltar, and yet again, when he caught them out in the open desert.

" Sir, are you calling off the invasion?"

Schneizel smiled patronizingly at him " Off course not, you're doing fine so far. No I was just commenting on the rushed nature of this campaign. "

General Calares ignored the smile and just nodded " Well they did catch us with our pants down, if we don't attack now! Then we might as well, never attack."

He referred to the corruption plaguing the build of the defensive works suddenly disappearing. This caused several soft targets to turn into hard ones; and the costs in taking them, to increase dramatically.

Schneizel returned his nod " I agree, I doubt I could rustle up enough support to send billions of pounds and thousands of men to die in this desert for marginal gains."

As a military man he wouldn't call securing his flank marginal, but he had to agree that he couldn't justify it either.

Nor did General Calares mention, that even this campaign was lacking in the artillery department. Or that he desperately needed more naval forces in the area, to secure his supply line.

Instead he smiled widely and professed his thanks to the prime minister and declared this offensive couldn't have been possible without him.

It wasn't a lie; but the prince had to compromise on some points to push this offensive through; among which was his appointment as commander.

" It's funny how economics is often more vital in determining the victor than individual heroics. Though I suppose one could make the case that these new workers who have speeded up the construction to nearly inhuman levels; are heroes in their own right." mused Schneizel

General Calares gritted his teeth as the prince subtly downplayed his own importance in history. " While our industrial might certainly makes things easier, it doesn't replace the need for courageous men."

" And I never would dare to imply so. I was just reminiscing on the conversation I had with the EU, about the use of their territorial waters. " replied Schneizel and let a silence hang in the air.

General Calares wondered if it was a power play to force him to beg for the prince's wisdom. It would subtly place him in a subordinate role, while he officially didn't have to answer to Schneizel in this campaign.

However General Calares didn't have the time for such petty games, his operational window was coming up any second now and if he missed it, than he could be stuck for months waiting for another one. " What did they say?"

" They agreed, to let certain ships slip through their unofficial naval blockade. Off course, they won't openly admit that they are threatening to block us; or even that their fleet is present in the Mediterranean to begin with. "

It made some sense guessed general Calares.

If no one knew that the European fleet was there, then no one would feel the need to complain why they weren't stopping Britannian supply ships

"How much are the Europeans demanding for the privilege? "

"Only a arm and a leg, but it will be well worth it, if this campaign succeeds." the prime minister gave a stern look to general Calares to emphasize the point.

General Calares tugged slightly at his collar before he replied " I'm confident that my plan will succeed prime minister, well that is if I can execute it on time."

Schneizel got the hint and said "I'll leave you to it general, I'll expect to hear from you soon."

The transmission ended and general Calares relaxed in his chair and demanded some water be delivered to him.

" Is the cloud cover in place colonel Fulbright" He asked

"Yes it is general, and I've already ordered the distraction to start on time on your standing orders sir."

General Calares nodded absentmindedly, thanking his foresight to give those orders. If he hadn't; then everything would have run behind schedule, thanks to the chatty prime minister.

However, everything was going to plan and soon his special unit would land behind enemy lines and take up a advantageous position over the trenches and then penetrate the lines even more to destroy their fuel depots and water tanks.

"…"

"…"

"…"

That is if they finally got to work as planned " What's the ETA on those VTOL colonel Fulbright! " yelled general Calares impatiently

" They will be in place in T minus five minutes sir. They had to take a detour to circumvent a unexpected anti airgun emplacement."

Calares scowled fiercely" How did you know about the new anti air gun when they are supposed to be radio silent? " He asked in outrage

The colonel flinched "My apologies sir, but captain Zimmerman felt he had to inform you in case you hadn't already committed to the frontal assault."

"We started the assault twenty minutes ago! How did that idiot think his message would reach us in time?"

Colonel Fulbright hastily explained "The time code on the message is from half an hour ago sir, but it got overlooked by the support staff during the preparation chaos."

General Calares glared at his support staff " Who the hell is responsible for this screw up?" He had specifically asked to be kept up to date on anything relating the airdropped platoon, mostly because his victory depended on them.

No one answered, either too chicken to fess up or they were so incompetent they couldn't remember who was responsible for it.

Luckily colonel Fulbright cleared it up for him "That would be communications officer Ramirez sir."

He remembered that name as a officer from south America. "A filthy number huh, we are generous enough to grant you a high ranking position within the military; after we maintained the peace for many years in the area, and you repay us with your incompetence!" He yelled at him

The officer in question just looked like a deer caught in the headlights and unable to defend himself, well not that general Calares wanted him to.

"Do you have any idea how many Britannian lives are being sacrificed as a diversion right now?" general Calares glared harder at him to prevent him from mentioning they were honorary britannians "I guess you don't care or maybe you have been compromised."

The officer was still tongue tied, but shook his head vigorously to deny the accusation of being a traitor.

"In either case, princess Cornelia has established military protocol that all soldiers must do their duty or die trying, to prevent the military from breaking down during a hostile situation. And of course she recommends the death penalty for traitors, so in either case the protocol is clear on what to do with you!"

The officer gulped in fear" Please have… " that was as far as he got before general Calares executed him with a single shot with his sidearm from up close.

"Let that be a lesson to all of you, that I don't tolerate incompetence from my soldiers." He wiped away some of the blood splatter that landed on him, and returned to his seat.

He knew it was over the top, but he couldn't earn the loyalty of his men through love. They were honorary britannians and hated him by default. This meant he had to control them through fear, or else they would disobey orders or worse actively sabotage him. He couldn't allow that, so he had no choice but to rely on some brutal methods that would only be effective in the short run. But so long as he won this campaign then he didn't care.

He looked at his men and saw that the message had sunk in, when they hastily got back to work. He sighed and wished once more that he could have picked his own subordinates.

If he had free choice then he wouldn't have picked any honorary britannians. But sadly prime minister Schneizel thought it was a good idea to let the numbers participate, to help them feel included. So they didn't resist tax hikes.

Though of course the quiet argument that they couldn't let the numbers outnumber them was also taken into consideration. With the rapid expansion of the empire it would soon become impossible to hold it by pure britannians alone, and a revolt was inevitable. Unless they completely culled the natives into submission and thinned their numbers a bit.

There were different theories on how to best do it and what percentage to aim for. But overall the consensus was the same, they needed to be kept in check.

But the most popular method was still the proposal from the teenage prince Schneizel, that recommended that the conquered people should live in poor living conditions to dissuade them from having any offspring, which would solve the problem by itself within a few decades peacefully.

The current use of sacrificing them in a suicide offensive was from the more radical wing. He didn't object to the logic, but resented the smudge on his honor those high casualty numbers would be on his service record.

So he was hoping those elite pure-blooded Britannians he sent to air drop behind the western sand dune would get to work soon, to save his reputation.

If it went according to plan he could spin it to his advantage, saying how he sent in a elite team of britannians to almost single-handedly defeat the Africans in a daring offensive.

He would gain favor with his pureblood friends and the moderates wouldn't resist showering him in praise as well. They would grumble a bit about how their side objective got ruined but would be pleased with the good press.

Overall everyone wins, even the honorary britannians. That is if those elite britannians actually got to work.

"Colonel Fulbright shouldn't they have started by now?" He asked again

"Yes sir, I've been keeping a look out, but so far nothing sir."

General Calares grumbled quietly to himself. His plan was good and if it succeeded, he would distinguish himself enough to get on the wait list for a viceroy-ship, Who only had to answer to the emperor himself.

He wouldn't make the short list just yet, but this and some other distinguishable service or bribes elsewhere. Would catapult him into pole position for the next vacancy.

That is if they showed up" How long ago were they supposed to arrive colonel Fulbright ?"

" They were due ten minutes ago sir."

"Hmm that is within operational limits, but try finding out if the Africans may have ambushed them."

He knew air drops were risky but the risk should be low in their state of the art knightmares. He had reserved the few Sutherlands he had for them, to ensure they wouldn't be held up by any glasgows.

And the enemy pilots shouldn't have been able to level the playing field, because they were all aces. Every single one of them scored in the seventies and eighties in the simulator. Any higher than that and they would become eligible for the rounds.

They should have wiped away any and all resistance, once they got on those hardened roads those Africans made. Sure dodging wasn't easy and chokepoints were there in abundance. But those defenses were built facing the other way. When attacked from the rear they were designed to be vulnerable, to make any operation to recapture them easier.

A sound tactic when you expected to give up ground to buy time, but not so much when your enemy could outflank you. It would have been a veritable killing zone if those anti air guns were all in place but for now there were enough gaps to exploit.

It was a classic case of trying to come up with a perfect plan and having it all unravel by a flaw in it, because you couldn't get all the pieces in place on time.

"Sir, its been twenty minutes since they were supposed to begin the operation. And I just got word from our Intel division that the Africans haven't suffered any losses yet from behind. "

" Does that mean they knew about our sneak attack beforehand and laid a trap for us?" asked general Calares trying to make sense of it. Some of his numbers betraying him and supplying the enemy with Intel was the only thing that made sense.

" Its possible sir, we haven't gotten confirmation if they did. But if so, they most likely kept it close to the vest and sent in a special forces team to plant landmines or something."

" Try hailing them, we need to figure this out before it is too late."

" At once sir!" saluted the colonel

Calares waited tensely as he listened to the radio static and futile attempts from his men.

"What about their IFF signals." questioned Calares next

" We can't receive it from this far out sir. Unless we make a concerted push here." the colonel pointed at the map on the wall " Then we can't boost the signal enough to even know if they are alive."

General Calares mulled it over, he was loathed to lose more men in a foolhardy attempt to overtake the defenders. But he needed to win here to fulfill his plans and those elite britannians were nobles meaning he would gain a lot of enemies if he didn't at least try to rescue them.

"Advance the right flank to pressure them in a feint. Once they take it and shift their forces there, we will make a push on the left to break through and link up with them. " commanded general Calares

"At once sir!" saluted the colonel and started relaying his orders. Not once did he mention that those orders would sentence hundreds of men to their deaths, to save a few dozen aristocrats.

* * *

**Author notes**

I had a lot of trouble deciding which port city to pick though most of you wouldn't care. There aren't that many natural ports on the north African coast making them very valuable. A town of only five thousand can effectively control a thousand miles. In the end I went with Sfax because it has some history as being used as a supply point for the Nazis and it's in Tunisia. At first I thought about one closer to the Suez channel but it didn't make sense if Lelouch ignored Britannia for so long.

The next chapter will be the actual battle. So do you want it all at once or split up into two chapters?


	8. Free Interpretation of Orders

**Half hour ago**

**Britannian battalion attacking the port town Sfax **

**Lt colonel Gabriele D****'****Annunzio pov**

Gabriele cursed his ancestors once more for trying to immigrate to the new world in search of the promised land. If anything they left it, or what was to become it, in exchange for more slavery.

If he knew where they were buried, he might consider pissing on their graves to relieve his stress. And right now he really could use a drink or even a smoke as he listened to the rhythmic beats the enemy artillery played on the loose sands.

They differed in sound depending on the ammunition used, the distance and even the surrounding sand dunes. Though nothing could beat that cheeky bugger who was firing his machine gun to the tune of some song he couldn't put his finger on.

He knew he had heard it before but the title escaped him. It would be just his luck if he died and his last thought would be 'was it by that artist?'.

Colonel Fulbright came marching by in his usual brisk manner looking the very picture of calm, despite the fact that he got showered with sand from stray shells every now and then. This didn't mean they were close though, the wind just liked picking the sand up and throwing it in his face. If he could get away with it, he would throw something as well.

Heck every man in his unit wanted to throw a right hook against his temple or at least a rock at his back, though rocks were in short supply.

"Alright men, the cloud cover is almost right on top of us. You all know what to do, just get in your knightmares and show those inbred bastards the might of the empire!" The colonel paused for an applause that wasn't coming. He glared slightly at them but didn't let it ruin his moment.

" All you have to do is reach those trenches and flush out their knock off knightmares and push inwards towards the artillery position on top of the eastern sand dune. We outnumber them a good five to one, so there is no way we can lose!" He finished confidently, while pushing his chest out so his medals caught the light just right.

Gabriele rolled his eyes at the enthusiasm this man had for a new medal. His father had been a soldier once, and had earned a general service medal, a victory medal and a silver medal. He had admired them when he was a kid, but medals didn't pay the bills and neither could his father.

He had taken those shiny little medals to every pawn shop and second hand shop he could find. The answer he got though was the same, 'Sorry kid we don't sell em cause there is no demand.'

His father had said that you couldn't put a price on valor.

And his father was right because he could sell his broken alarm clock, but not the medals, so it was beyond worthless.

He clapped anyway to show colonel Fulbright he had his back, put on a fake smile and subtly nudged his friend Chavez to follow his lead.

After a slow start the entire unit eventually clapped for the pompous bastard, who was sending them into the jaws of death and described it as a walk in the park.

He gave his own short speech to his men to bolster some confidence, though his had more emphasis on liquor and loose women than honor and glory.

But it was just what the guys needed to take the edge off. They were low born bastards after all, concepts of glory were worth less than dirt to them. No one remembered the common soldier, only the generals.

They got into their glasgows and fired up their interfaces while they waited for their own artillery barrage to begin. It wouldn't take any of the opposing forces out unless by sheer luck, but it would send them scurrying for cover, allowing them to gain some ground unimpeded.

He turned on his mp3 player to listen to some Wagner, the ride of the valkyries always got him in the mood to do something suicidal.

He ordered his men to call in and tried to split off just enough attention away from his musicale reverie to register it.

Once that was done he sounded off the charge but dragged his feet slightly, so that someone else would be in front. The grunts hadn't studied desert warfare but he had, and he knew mines were common in them, especially in defensive positions.

They had to cover over eleven miles to make it to the trenches because they had to stay out of range of the howitzers. But he kept a slow pace and had his units dispersed to keep the dust clouds from blinding his own men.

He listened to his own artillery guns and counted the rounds in his head to get an idea of how long he had left. Seven, six, five, four, three, two, one, and it was over.

He was on his own now, but he had crossed most of the distance already though the last two miles would be the hardest.

They formed a wedge formation and used their lances to tear apart the barbwire surrounding the ditches. He didn't even know why they bothered with barbwire. A infantry charge was pure suicide nowadays, not that this was any less.

His attention was drawn by the knightmare heads popping out of the ditches and opening up their fact spheres. He looked at the distance on his radar and saw he was still a good 2000 meters away from them but at least he had some cloud cover now.

When he and his men had tested the perimeter, it had seemed like they were impossible to hit like ghosts. Everything would go straight through them or go off course.

Panic had sunk in with the men, they had thought that the enemy had pioneered some kind of stealth device. After all, if you had to fight a invisible enemy in a desert, where there was no cover and nothing but visibility then you might as well shoot yourself in the head.

Luckily the colonel had realized his mistake and explained what refraction meant though some had to dig deep to high school chemistry to follow. But once they did, they all collectively wanted to lynch the bastard for not taking any countermeasures beforehand.

They had been drilled mercilessly with artillery fire before command got their heads out of their asses long enough to actually listen to their ground troops. For some reason they refused to believe them, when they said they couldn't hit their enemy. At least they had popped some smoke back then or it could have been disastrous.

Seventeen hundred meters and closing, he started zigzagging randomly so the artillery wouldn't be able to predict his trajectory. Though some close calls begged to differ.

" Deploy smoke screen" He commanded now that they were within range of the dug in glasgows who seemed to have less trouble hitting them."

Smoke soon covered the entire force though they were still getting peppered left and right by sheer chance.

And fifteen hundred, they were in the clear! " Alright boys weapons free, let's return the favor!" He called out

His troops answered with vindictive cheer though he got hailed on a private channel by captain Chavez " You sure about this lt colonel, we might run light on ammo once we get within effective range."

Gabrielle nodded to the wisdom though Chavez couldn't see it " You have a point, but the men are nervous and letting them squeeze off a few rounds will calm them down. Once we get inside the enemy perimeter, I don't want them freezing or getting sidetracked."

Thousand meters and another round of artillery fire was joined by 25 mm streamers from the glasgows in the trenches. But so far no sign of any landmines which comforted him immensely.

He started giving out rapid fire orders to use any minor sand dune and depression as cover. It slowed down their approach compared to a straight bee line towards the trenches, but even a three foot dune could mean the difference between life and death.

BOOM!

Case in point, the shrapnel from that artillery grenade would have shredded him, if that dune hadn't been in-between them to cushion him from the blast.

500 meters, he did a quick systems check to see if there was any damage. If the joints started malfunctioning, he needed to know now and not when a Glasgow was about to use his stun tonfa on him.

Speaking of which " Men remember their stun tonfas are no match for our lances, so run em through and crush them underfoot!"

200 meters, one last barrage from their own artillery blanketed the first trench line to get them to flinch.

They did, and foolishly ducked their heads back down leaving them free to close the last stretch

He smiled victoriously as he jumped into the air and angled his lance downwards to skewer a African knightmare. The lance went straight through the cockpit and out the chest. The pilot had foolishly crouched and completely exposed his cockpit to both the artillery fire and his lance.

He should have positioned himself against a wall to protect his cockpit and then crouched. But he supposed the inferiority of African doctrine was a good thing.

" Captain Chavez take two companies and clear this route to the second trench and I'll take the rest to clear the other one to the west." He ordered quickly.

It would mean going against orders and leaving the artillery position to the east alone and exposing their backs to them but he needed to wipe out the rest of the glasgows in these trenches before they reformed.

Right now they had shock and awe on their side but once they got their act together these narrow trenches would become a killing field on both sides. 25 MM streamers would be flying both ways and they would get completely bogged down, artillery or no artillery.

He had sent three hundred glasgows with Chavez and was bringing another five hundred to bear on their left flank. As he drove westward and impaled another Glasgow to the wall of the trench, he idly wondered why they even dug a connecting trench.

It was common enough in trench warfare to allow for troop movement, while not exposing themselves to sniper fire, but they also isolated them to prevent a complete breakthrough when they were overrun.

So it begged the question why they had allowed it when they had only dug two trenches deep and wide enough to allow movement for knightmares.

He pulled his knightmare to a stop to observe the battlefield as it was progressing and looked for any hidden ambushes. He ignored the high pitched whiny voice of central command ordering him to explain himself and his new orders.

Instead, he looked at the city walls of the little coastal town they were supposed to take. Though he still didn't quite see why?

After all, what good was the use of a port city for re-supply, when your ships couldn't reach you.

Heck the entire reason why they had landed in Tunisia and were driving through the desert to reach Cairo had been because the Italians and Spaniards had massed their entire fleet at Palermo.

They weren't officially at war with the EU at the moment but prince Schneizel had decided that a naval battle was highly likely, if they tried to sail passed them.

They were after all, in a proxy war with them, if nothing else. The Africans had pulled their fleet back to Alexandria after the loss at the strait of Gibraltar. But they still had enough strength to block their supply lines, if the EU decided to be opportunistic and sink their fleet in a surprise offensive.

But that didn't matter for now, even if the thing he was risking his life for, was only a hollow prize.

What did matter was why they didn't bother putting artillery on the steeper sand dune to the west. It was so steep, that their knightmares wouldn't be able to climb it and would need to bombard it first to loosen the sand up enough, to even the slope out.

Instead, they put them on the east sand dune, which was gentle enough to be climbed with little trouble, so it had to be a trap right?

BOOM!

His pondering was blown to the back of his mind as he gazed upon the destruction.

The two routes filled to the brim with his soldiers had disappeared in a sandstorm, thanks to planted explosives.

It had to be remote detonated plastic explosives, likely C4. But knowing that, didn't bring back two whole companies or his friend Chavez.

" Chavez are you okay! " He asked over the radio though he knew deep down that he had to be dead. But still he asked to appease his conscience while he tried to form a plan.

Only static answered him along with dozens of his men trying the same thing over the open radio, forgetting to turn to a private one.

But the Africans weren't done yet, no they wanted to give him the answer to his second question. From the side window in his cockpit he could see a squadron of battle tanks emerging on top of western sand dune.

Normally he would have scoffed at the foolish attempt to use obsolete technology to take on a knightmare frame. But those tanks were on top of a sand dune he couldn't climb and were hull down, meaning he couldn't even see them except for their turret.

He couldn't punch through the sand with his assault rifle nor could he kill them by just taking out their main gun. But that was the best he could hope for while they had a kill shot every time they hit one of his men.

The knightmare frame sacrificed a lot of armor for the sake of speed but they were slower in the desert and still trapped inside the trenches.

But if he sounded the retreat now, it would cause chaos among his men and the new knightmares still flooding in and his retreating men would get tangled up in each other.

It would provide a target made in heaven for the gunners inside those battle tanks, no way they could miss.

So that left only the gentle slope to the east and a retreat along the sea there. Yes that was his best bet.

" All men refocus on silencing those artillery batteries and from there we'll bypass the second trench all together and invade the eastern part of the city." He ordered, trying to sound more confident and unfazed than he felt.

He had to stay upbeat and positive or the men would fall apart, though he allowed a sniffle to pass through his control to let them know he wasn't a heartless bastard.

Yeah that's why he was crying, just reassuring the men and that's that. He wiped away some tears so they didn't screw up his vision and drove back to the east, tracing the way he came in case there were landmines on the spots he didn't step.

The battle tanks were raining down abuse and were taking out his friends left and right. By his guess he had lost another company just to those heartless bastards.

He didn't stop and try to save anyone of them though, because there was nothing he could do. Seven hundred guns were firing on them with impunity and the only thing they could do was get out of their range.

" Lt colonel some of our men who made it to the second trench are still alive. A full platoon's worth sir. They're trapped but holding out for now but no telling for how long!"

Gabrielle cursed despite the fact that it was good news because he was now obligated to try to rescue them and sent even more men to their death in the attempt.

" Order them to make their way east to the best of their ability." He ordered anyway on the off chance that they might be able to link back up.

He received an acknowledgment and he looked at the eastern sand dune with those damnable guns still playing their song.

By the time he got there his men were already scaling it and locked in a battle with the few glasgows tasked to defend the artillery but they were no match for them.

He dispatched them easily and ordered his men not to destroy the guns if they could help it, only the personnel.

He had a fun little idea about how he could use them to rain down fire on their own city from here. And the best part would be that it would force those tanks to come down from their perch to stop them. And once they were out in the open he and his men could slaughter them, as usual.

However, he heard the dreaded words every soldier feared over the radio, _court martial_. Unless he followed orders exactly from now on then no amount of excuses would save his life


	9. Playing Jenga with Lives at stake

**Tunisian port town Sfax**

**Military headquarters **

**General Dunsimi pov**

" We can't hold out for much longer!" analyzed Khalid, one of his staff officers grimly "They are hammering our entire line and now they have focused their men on our left flank out of range of our tanks. If this keeps up, they'll break through and surround us. Or worse, drive directly into the city and use the civilians as meat shields. "

" Send in all the knightmares we can spare, to reinforce the left flank." commanded general Dunsimi quickly. Though he felt a slight pang of worry about another assault on his right flank. If it happened then the majority of his knightmares would be crowded in the center which would spell disaster. Without the guard force for the tanks, they would be cannon fodder. But he couldn't let his left flank collapse either.

He tried to bolster his men and himself in the process "We may not be able to hold on much longer but neither can they. I've received word from central command that the fleet that was being repaired is sailing to reinforce us here. Once they get within range they will bombard the eastern dune until there is nothing left of those Britannian bastards."

lied general Dunsimi to encourage his men. No one was coming, except for maybe more Brit bastards, but he needed to keep morale up, to keep his men fighting. If that meant lying through his teeth then so be it.

" That may be true general, but how long before they get here? " asked Khalid, ever the optimist.

The general sighed dramatically and changed the subject "We have the field advantage here, giving us greater mobility in the sands and fortification. With that we drastically reduced our casualties compared to them. For everyone of us that went down, we took three of them with us!" He gestured emphatically with his arms to drive home the point.

"They sent a full knightmare battalion in here, against only a single company and a squadron of obsolete tanks and we have stained these sands red with their blood!" He slammed the table with his fist for emphasis.

And now to distract them with " Even if we fall, then the next line of defense will hold them, until we get reinforcements from Europe." He said quietly, confident that someone would question Europe's involvement and forget the fleet or just take it for granted.

" I don't think we can expect any reinforcements from Europe sir. Not until the civilians there, start feeling the heat when the britannians start looking their way. Once they do, they will send reinforcements to keep the war off their shores but not until then sir." said colonel Jaramogi morosely

The general chuckled grimly " A accurate statement colonel and one of the greatest flaws of a democratic system inside a federation, where every member still has their own private army. They won't risk losing their own until forced to by the others."

" Which is no different from our own federation, we're here proudly defending our continent from foreign invasion but our south African neighbors won't bother sending us troops to defend our shores. Making excuses, while we die for their sake, saying we need to reach a resolution in our council." Khalid said with contempt

Lieutenant Arogo laughed at that " Hah, they know we lack the voting power to force them into action! And with each passing day our population dwindles and we lose more voting power!"

"True with our current situation, we are powerless to help ourselves and our allies won't " agreed Khalid morosely

General Dunsimi sighed again " At this point i would swear allegiance to just about anybody, if it meant they would rescue our country from Britannia. I don't relish the fate of being a slave, especially In the middle of a war zone when the EU finally gets it's act together."

"General! the britiannians have broken through on the left flank and are headed straight for our supply lines! " yelled communications officer Kpodo

"Crap!" swore lieutenant Arago

"How did they manage that, there was no way they could break through there that easily" wondered colonel Jaramogi

Kpodo shook his head while still keeping his eyes firmly peeled to the screen. " They didn't sir, they just ran right past us in a suicide attempt sir!"

"What! but that would cost them three fourths of their remaining army, just attempting that. There would be no way to get any of their troops back alive from such a mad rush." asked a flabbergasted general Dunsimi

"I know sir, but it doesn't change the fact that they did it sir." said Kpodo resolutely and pointed to the screen as if saying 'look for yourself'.

General Dunsimi cursed "Warn our supply lines, to fall back as much as possible to avoid casualties."

He watched the blitzkrieg offensive on his tactical screen. Well that was a bit of a misnomer but essentially accurate. Though it missed the overwhelming air support and tanks bulldozing their way through.

The knightmares would have replaced the tanks quite nicely and they did achieve surprise. But the penetrative strength coupled with surprise to overwhelm the defensive lines was missing.

Rather than piercing through their lines and attacking them from behind, it seemed they were more focused on something else.

"Any idea what they are after other than perhaps our water and fuel supplies." If they managed to blow those up they would be dead in the water within a few days. The operation might make some sense if they did that.

" No sir."

"… "

" Sir this just came in from the Intel division. They picked up some relayed orders from the britannians and apparently they are performing a rescue effort for a stranded platoon which got stuck behind our lines" said colonel Jaramogi

" What? Are they seriously risking over three hundred men for a platoon?" asked the general in confusion

The colonel nodded "I know sir, but apparently they sent in a special unit from the west meant to flank us from behind."

General Dunsimi looked at the tactical map " So that was their aim all along." He mused. if the tactic had worked. They would have decimated their tank support and could have fired down on the trenches with near impunity.

"Any word on how they might have been defeated?" asked lieutenant Arogo

"No sir, from the chatter we picked up, they are trying to push forward to be able to receive their IFF signal" said communications officer Kpodo

" They must not have realized that the transmission range of radios degrades due to the environment." realized general Dunsimi and then wondered "So they're trying to establish a relay point, but why bother now?"

" They are most likely high nobles, thus forcing the commander to rescue them. I've received reports that his rank and file consists mostly of honorary britannians. So they were a sacrificial diversion for the real attack." grumbled colonel Jaramogi

" What should we do sir, retreat to protect our supply line or whittle down the enemy as they pass our positions?" asked Khalid

" We hold our ground lieutenant! The very fact that the hidden force hasn't done anything yet, means they are either stuck somewhere due to mechanical breakdown, or they got ambushed by the locals."

"Locals sir?" asked lieutenant Arogo

" There are still some Berbers living a nomadic existence around here. I heard someone high up in the EU decided to give them some free grenade launchers."

" So you think they ambushed the britannians?" asked colonel Jaramogi

General Dunsimi chuckled "Yes, they probably underestimated them, because they were on horseback."

"Horses sir? The elite Britannian team got taken down, by guys on horses sir" checked lieutenant Arago

"Indeed they did lieutenant." chuckled general Dunsimi " Those moving in the desert are at a disadvantage to those standing still. If the Berbers just dug in and waited to blast them with the grenade launchers, then even their factspheres wouldn't find them."

"Just wait till I tell all the guys back home, they wont believe this!" laughed another officer on loan from another member of the African federation.

" Stay focused men, we are going to make those britannians bleed for every meter they cross. After that, we will fall back to the city wall to protect ourselves, and the city from stragglers, before we launch a renewed assault to finish them off. "

"Yes sir!" They all shouted in unison

* * *

**Special forces that were airdropped on top of the steep western hill right behind the tanks**

**Captain Zimmerman **

He cursed as he tried to raise HQ on the radio for the sixth time but still no luck. Well he wasn't expecting any but it was better than giving up. He was stuck out here in the middle of nowhere cut off from the rest of the army and even his own platoon. He still didn't have a clue what exactly happened, but one moment he was getting into place to ambush the Africans from behind and the next the ground swallowed him up.

It was like suddenly a sandstorm erupted around him and the ground gave way beneath him. He thought it was an explosive at first, well after he ruled out an act of god.

But it didn't damage his knightmare as far as he could tell. All systems were functioning except for communications, the only problem was that he couldn't move his knightmare an inch. It was trapped under several tons of sand that kept him from communicating with HQ or even confirm his friends were still alive. The wall of sand was even blocking IFF signals as close by as five meters.

He knew for a fact his buddy Frank was right next to him but all he saw on his tactical display was a disturbing emptiness. It was like he was the only one left behind enemy lines.

He knew it wasn't true and his friends were captured the same as him. But the nagging feeling wouldn't leave him alone. The only thing left to do was to sit tight and wait for the enemy to dig them out and ransom them back as POW's.

They were all high ranking nobles, so they should be able to convince them that they could get a high ransom for them. A quick search on the internet would be enough confirmation for his captors. And with the notorious money worship going on in the EU and corruption in Africa, he should be free soon enough.

They only reason why he didn't just take a nap to wait this all out was the slim hope that maybe general Calares would come save him. It was a vain hope but hope nonetheless.

He sighed at the hopelessness of his situation and took another deep breath to calm himself down. And then another when just one didn't work. He didn't get why he was so out of breath.

His eyes suddenly widened with the full realization that he was trapped underground. He hadn't known what that meant until now, but now he understood the full implications.

He was trapped in a airtight box thanks to the fine grained sand and wasn't about to get out anytime soon. This meant he only had the remaining air inside his cockpit to survive on.

He wasn't an expert on how much oxygen there was in a cubic foot of air but he knew he could hold his breath for five minutes max. So he figured If he could map out the size of his lungs compared to how much space there was in his cockpit he might get an estimate.

No wait, he once read it was carbon monoxide poisoning that forced you to take a new breath so he had more than that per lung. He tried mapping it out but only came up with the rough estimate of a few hours tops. Which wasn't particularly useful and now he had nothing to keep his mind busy to keep it from panicking.

He looked to the sides of his cockpit and watched the sand pour into his cockpit. It had slowed down to a trickle but now he wondered how it would effect his air supply.

He remembered the lecture in the knightmare academy that all knightmare cockpits weren't air tight on purpose to give the pilot more situational awareness. Stereos were useful but didn't give you that instant warning when you heard something behind you. Nor did they survive battle conditions very well, when your microphones died from cosmetic damage, it would leave you deaf in a very chaotic environment. Thus as a redundancy they made it not even watertight let alone airtight, to allow sounds through freely.

He remembered that they didn't have to worry about anything coming through the holes because they didn't open directly into the cockpit making it impossible for shrapnel to enter through it.

He had thought it was sheer genius at the time but now he wondered as he watched the sand. He knew it wouldn't fill his cockpit up all the way but still he wondered if the enemy was going to take advantage of it.

He didn't have any real basis for that thought other than idle musings and paranoia induced by imminent death. But he had nothing better to do, while he struggled increasingly with taking a satisfying breath, every passing minute.

He was going to die down here, all alone, with no one to hear him scream. He was being put down like a annoying pest, like those flies he had the maids put out flytraps out for. He didn't even get the courtesy of being swatted like an annoying fly, no he had to suffer the ignominy of that sticky flypaper. It was holding him in place while he slowly choked instead of starved to death.

As a kid he had dreamed of vanquishing the enemies of Britannia and earning honor and glory on the battlefield. But this was how his life ended, in his first battle for the empire, a pathetic death if he ever heard of one.

He eyed his sidearm, it was standard issue for all knightmare pilots in case they had to eject and found themselves behind enemy lines. It wouldn't do much against an entire army but it would serve against the locals. So they could force a ride back to friendly territories. If they could evade capture long enough that is.

But now it looked extremely tempting for another reason. He fingered it for a second thinking it through. Was he really the kind of man that took the coward's way out.

But what other choice did he have? The general wasn't going to find him in time. And his capturers were most likely either too slow to save him as well or they would let him choke on purpose. So they wouldn't have to deal with any possible shoot outs when they excavated them.

He was dead either way, so what did it matter. He drew his gun and held it in front of him and admired the stainless steel, the way it reflected the light of his displays.

Oh wait, that was another concern. The desert was scorching hot during the day but underneath the first few layers of sand lay cool sand underneath. He could feel it, if he just grabbed the grains to his side. But that also meant that as soon as the power ran out he was going to freeze in his cockpit.

Well most likely he wasn't going to make it to nightfall when temperatures plummeted but the sentiment stood. The longer he stayed alive the more painful it was going to be and he was going to die anyway. He might as well choose the method himself.

Yes he was going to do it himself. Hmm now that he made the decision, it felt kind of empowering in this otherwise hopeless situation.

He carefully lined up the shot making sure he would hit his brain. He had heard horror stories, where the suicide attempter missed the brain on the first attempt, and suffered through the pain before they succeeded. Some were unlucky enough to be too weak to try again and had to slowly bleed out before they could die.

He wished they gave a class about the best way to commit suicide at the military academy. Well that idea wouldn't be very popular with the brass or the young and eager students wanting to make a name for themselves. But now that he had to make the decision to shoot himself in the head or the heart. He really wished he had some pointers.

He pulled the trigger and mercifully, everything went blank as he passed away.

* * *

**G1 Mobile command fortress **

"General Calares we can't find any sign of the special unit. We have to assume they were destroyed and fall back before we get destroyed sir."

General Calares gritted his teeth at the ignominy he suffered due to the failure of the pureblooded Britannians. He had personally selected for this mission.

He hated doing this, but he had no other choice before his entire army was destroyed. " Order the retreat. We can't overwhelm them like this anymore. We need to regroup and send in another larger airdrop to conquer this city." He ordered reluctantly

Colonel Fulbright let out a sigh of relief before he responded "Yes general."

He watched the disorderly retreat take place on his tactical screen and tried arranging some covering fire to help the men get clear, before they were mowed down.

He had dreamed up a risky plan and rather than reap the rewards as he intended, he had suffered all the losses. Once the men were clear of any pursuit he turned his mind to how he was going to spin this. His superiors would want a explanation for why he failed so disastrously bad. And he wasn't inclined to say, he lost his head and decided to risk all to save some other nobles, despite the points it would score with their families.

Maybe in private he could intimate as much but in public it was political suicide. It went against the ideology of the emperor to risk your life to save the weak. And all those who died, were simply too weak to fend for themselves, making it foolish to waste the effort to save them in the first place.

Speaking of the emperor, what was he going to say when he was summoned to the royal court. He would definitely need to talk up his enemies indirectly, by planting some false witness reports or something.

Yes he needed to bribe his Intel division to craft a report saying his opposing general was a unnoticed genius, and had to be earmarked for assassination as soon as possible. If he managed that, he could avoid the humiliation if the general lost pathetically to someone else.

"Any word yet on how we lost the special knightmare platoon." He asked absentmindedly. He didn't really expect an answer nor did he care right now what became of his peers.

"Yes sir, we intercepted chatter from the Africans that say that the locals armed with grenade launchers took them out. "

"What, are you saying those barbers or something took out my state of the art knightmares, before they could even report a single loss!"

" Well yes sir. We expect the locals hid amongst the sand dunes and launched a ambush with concentrated fire from all sides. According to the chatter they received grenade launchers from the EU."

" God dammnit, I got outplayed by a couple of peasants in the desert." seethed general Calares

"They are nomads to be precise sir, and they know this desert better than anybody else alive." offered colonel Fulbright who only got a fierce glare in return, causing him to shrink back.

One of the communications officers muttered " I thought the knightmares were impervious to grenades."

"They aren't, they are just too fast to hit most of the time thanks to inboard sensors and high agility. But if the enemy infantry can get in close, then knightmares can't dodge in time anymore. And if they aim for the joints, they can easily take down a knightmare" answered general Calares to distract himself.

The colonel added " They were designed to be rapid response units and able to outmaneuver other units to outflank them. But their astonishing success propelled them to the main staple unit rather than a special unit. But the design stayed the same, because if you increased the armor plating enough to withstand grenades, than they wouldn't be fast enough to dodge other high yield ammunition."

"I see. " answered the communications officer uncertainly now that he was suddenly the center of attention.

General Calares continued to keep him from thinking more morose thoughts about how he was going to explain himself back home. "The knightmare frame was a natural product of our military philosophy of fast movement to outflank the enemy being ideal, rather than the European ideal of taking up strong defensive positions and holding them."

"They are static, we are mobile, we are versatile and they specialize. We are pretty much the unstoppable object and they the unmovable object. We contrast on pretty much everything and counterbalance each other for the most part. Today was another example of it. We attacked and they held the line and bled us dry. "general Calares smiled as he just found his explanation for the emperor

"We would have been more even, if this desert didn't take away our mobility. But because that is just the way it is, we can't break through easily because we miss a crucial component of our winning formula."

He let that sink in for a bit for his men as he gauged their reactions. Most of them seemed reassured and at ease now that they thought they just had a bad day and it wasn't really their fault to begin with. Yes he was definitely using this line of reasoning with the emperor but he needed to work it out a bit more"

" Colonel take command I'm going to my room to write up our after action report."

"Yes general Calares sir"

Maybe he could reference some other ancient battles that took place with opposing philosophies and the futility of trying to win when you missed the key component. He would have to consult his library to see if he could scrounge up something.

* * *

**Ten minutes ago **

Gabrielle D'Annunzio was conflicted, on the one hand he had been demoted and removed from the chain of command but that also meant he could deliberately drag his feet even more.

When the order came in, to rescue the platoon that had caused hundreds of his friends deaths by not following orders. He had insulted his commanding officer by questioning his pedigree.

The lt. General hadn't taken kindly to the suggestion that his ineptness lied with the fact that his mother had slept with every number she could get her hands on, because his father was impotent.

It insulted him in three different ways in just one sentence so Gabrielle had been quite smug about it while he heard him bluster. Sure he was definitely facing court martial now, but he wouldn't have sentenced everyone to die to save slackers anyways.

Instead that decision was given to Estevez a uppity little captain he had never liked. He had somehow survived the tank barrage and was now eager for more. Which spoke volumes about his intelligence or his lack of it.

Regardless of that, they had no choice but to follow colonel Estevez now, to link up with the stranded platoon in the centre and push through to find the missing platoon in the west.

He still wasn't sure how they were supposed to climb the slopes until he saw the bombardment off it on his screen. It seemed Estevez wasn't born without a brain after all.

He reversed his direction to avoid the strafing fire off one of the glasgows in the secondary trench to his left.

" What the hell do you think your doing D'Annunzio! Get back here and stay in formation." commanded the freshly promoted colonel

Gabrielle grumbled under his breath " Doesn't that fool realize that evasive maneuvers are key to surviving! If he keeps this up, there won't be anyone to actually save the nobles and solidify his promotion."

He laid down some suppressive fire and placed himself closer to the centre of the formation, so he could use his friends as meat shields. Well that was a harsh way to put it, but that's what it came down to. Only the shield was thinning rapidly thanks to the tank fire coming from the front.

The slope had flattened a bit and the first platoon made some decent progress on it before another salvo tore them to shreds. But Estevez wasn't bothered " Use your slash harkens to pull yourselves up. Anchor them into the debris!"

Great! They were sacrificing and cannibalizing their men on purpose now. But despite his mutterings, he too anchored himself to a fallen Glasgow and pulled himself closer to the tanks. He rationalized it, to himself by saying they were dead anyway and would want him to take revenge for them.

He blinked, did he see that right. Yeah he was and Estevez was going to walk right into it.

The tanks had withdrawn to prevent a melee battle and judging from their turrets before they disappeared from view they were opening up the centre. In other words they were hoping, we will charge straight through the centre and get broadsided on both flanks.

Which was highly possible with their mission statement being just to link up with the nobles and get out again. And sadly he was right and he got forced to run the gauntlet.

" Colonel Estevez we will all die! If we don't turn back now." He said over a private channel to prevent panic turning into mass chaos. Though maybe he should ,to cause a rout, maybe that would save some of his men. And he could perhaps beat the instigation charges, if he made it sound accidental.

" Stop being such a pussy D'Annunzio or I'll shoot you myself! These are just tanks, we'll mop them up after we find the nobles."

They drove straight past the tanks despite losing over half of their men to them, so much for obsolete. But eventually they reached the landing point for the nobles but they weren't there. Not even a wreck was in sight, so where the bloody hell had they gone?

Did they flee the battle or did they try a alternative route?

" Find them!" commanded Estevez to no in in particular

" We can't search for them while under fire colonel." He entreated but when he was greeted with nothing but static he exploded " Use you goddamn head!"

Whatever response he might have gotten was lost on him because he got hit in the shoulder by a tank. His entire frame did a half turn from the force of the blow before falling to the ground like a puppet with it's strings cut.

He did a diagnostics test and it reported back critical system failure in the central processing unit. Well it didn't, he just inferred that from the black screen.

So with the computer fried, he immediately reached for the manual ejection system, but nothing happened.

He supposed he would be getting a annoying pop up alert, saying his ejection system was jammed, right about now. if he had a computer in the first place, that is.

He sighed and resigned himself to his fate. He listened to the rhythmic beats of cannon fire along with the artillery who had joined the party at some point.

He thought the creaking of bent metal added a nice touch, but it was a bit too much. He really could do with less creaking, though he would be happy to see that bastard Estevez creak and general Calares with him.

But he didn't need to worry about that, they would undoubtedly be executed for incompetence. Instead he turned the volume of his Wagner up and then it hit him.

The song it wasn't any kind of modern rubbish but a classic like his 'Ride of the valkyries'. It was Beethoven's fifth symphony though a bit butchered because there was a limit to how many sounds you could play with a machine gun.

Though he had to salute his killers for their artistic genius, even in the bleak and dreary world of war. It brought a smile to his face, despite the dried tears shed for Chavez.

He was already looking forward to his friend making fun of his obsession with music, in heaven or hell as the case may be.

BOOM!

* * *

**Underground bunker**

**Thirty five kilometers away from the siege on Sfax**

Lelouch was trying his very best to keep the maniacal laughter from erupting from his throat but the overwhelming victory he had engineered was almost too much to resist.

"That went better than expected. "commented Jeremiah as he smiled at the tactical screen.

" Indeed everything went to plan, even the decoy scheme was bought hook line and sinker."

" How'd you even convince that general that the Berbers had grenade launchers?" asked Jeremiah

"Simple I ordered Sayako to bring them a shipment disguised as one of the EU generals. So as far as they know, it is the truth and the EU denying it, will be seen as standard protocol."

"Why would they deny it. wouldn't they want to take credit for turning a crushing defeat around to a decisive victory " asked Jeremiah

"Because they want to contain the war to the African continent. So they won't take credit to avoid earning the ire of Britannia but also to avoid their assassination attempts."

"Assassination attempts for those fools. "scoffed Jeremiah

" Well they may be greedy but it doesn't mean their survival instincts are bad. If they say nothing the trail ends with the Berbers, so the OSI will focus on them. But they are notoriously difficult to find in the desert, especially if they don't want to be found. And even if they do and they deny it, it will also sound like standard procedure."

"So no one will believe the denials and just believe whatever they want." summarized Jeremiah

" Correct, I think there was a scientific term for this but I forgot. Hmm I think it will come to me in a moment. Anyways with this it will be convincing that ordinary citizens can make a difference against knightmares. And with the proper media campaign even popular with the common citizen."

" Hmm I get it, a campaign based on the right to defend yourself or something along those lines. But is It actually possible? I know a grenade launcher can damage knightmares but getting in close isn't easy."

"it won't work in the open like a desert, "Lelouch added with a chuckle " Unless you're a Berber. But normal citizens will be very effective in guerrilla warfare when knightmares try to take over cities."

"Won't they just try to bomb the cities to flush them out." countered Jeremiah

"They will, but despite that, a large city can hold out for months during a sustained assault against a large force. So long as they can make them bleed for every city block they take. They can buy time and motivation for the EU to get its act together when Britannia finally lands on European soil."

"It still sounds counterproductive to wait for our side to lose, before we try to win."

"I know, but you're familiar with the concept of lulling you opponent into a false sense of security right? "

"Off course, it's a basic tactic but rarely done right."

"Well the Europeans are in a false sense of security, I need them rudely awoken from, and the britannians need to be put in one. But I can't have them sustain too many losses or even I won't be able to turn things around."

" So are we going to let the rest of the war in Africa play out as is, so that they will eventually lose? "asked Jeremiah

"No I intend for them to bleed on both sides before I let things escalate. The Europeans will need time to accept their new reality."

"If it comes with the sound of mortar fire they will just go into shock and roll over and die, before I get control over the situation. I also need to drain the bank accounts of Britannia a bit more by wasting their knightmares on the barren sands of Africa."

" I don't see that happening sir, they recovered quickly enough by increasing taxes in numbered areas. I expect they will just do more of the same, if they run into more financial difficulties."

" True but then the civilian unrest is bound to go up and when that happens, it increases the need for garrisoned forces or risk a revolt."

"So we will continue operation QUICKSAND and continue to blame it on the Berbers."

"Yes but make sure the targets are isolated enough that reinforcements can't get to them in a timely fashion. It needs to be plausible that the Berbers had enough time to bury the wrecks or haul them away before they arrive."

"If you fail just wipe them out as well, but exercise caution. We don't need Britannia getting cold feet and withdrawing too soon. Just staying in hostile territory is costing them and agitating the EU to hasten its defenses."

" Will do sir, but does that mean you're leaving me in charge?" asked Jeremiah

"Not for long just to establish a routine. I can't risk staying here for long in case the Africans stumble onto our hidden air cannister installations. I need to be in place to divert them from our shifting fields or everything could fall apart."

"Yes if the empire found out you were submerging their knightmares in the sand, they would be quite furious. "

Lelouch nodded " They invented a special machine to set off landmines back during the great European war. If they figured out we just made a special type of landmine that goes deeper underground it will only be a matter of time before they circumvent it."

" How? Its ten meters below ground and reacts only to something weighing more than five tons. That machine that slammed metal chains on the ground to trigger the explosion will do nothing to our underground pipes from which the air bursts come from. They aren't pressure sensitive but remotely activated. "

"I know Jeremiah, but they might just try to dig em up and block the pipes. If that happens an entire section will be worthless. I build this grid with pipes on purpose so that the air canisters would be attached to pipes to refill them, so that it could be reusable even behind enemy lines."

"If they find it, we will be back to my original idea of air canister mines, but then we won't be the ones to excavate them. Which will make it pointless to plant the air canisters in the first place, if we can't salvage the knightmare or kill the pilot."

"Speaking of which, are we going to dig those captured pilots out?" asked Jeremiah

" No the Africans may have fallen back for now, but they are only regrouping. They will launch an assault to press the advantage soon enough. If we go out there now, we will just be caught in the crossfire and risk exposing our trump card"

* * *

**A week later. **

**Town walls of Sfax **

**Doctor Ashanti pov **

She stared out at the wrecks littering the once pristine sands. They had seemed eternal and ever changing, and this day too would fade. The wrecks would get buried or slowly eroded and no one but a scholar would ever know how many men died that day.

But even they wouldn't know how much blood stained her hands. She had saved many lives by providing emergency surgery but how many had she doomed. She knew that one man in the right place could mean the difference between whether another died or not.

Her pen had taken dozens of grunts and a few knightmare pilots out of the fight. So how many had her pen killed?

Or would they have been slaughtered all the same?

She wasn't a fool, she knew they had been outmatched and only their extensive traps gave them a chance at winning. Heck individual bravery seemed beyond insignificant and only the plans of the generals seemed to matter in the end.

How utterly pointless.

They had died for freedom, duty and for their loved ones. But it wouldn't be long before another force landed with a more competent general. But even if, that didn't happen, it didn't change the fact the sheer economic output of Britannia dwarfed the entire African continent. They could put a child in charge and still emerge victorious, eventually, by sheer attrition.

Her country was doomed no matter what.

Her hand snaked back into her pocket and fingered the letter she had received shortly after the battle. A promise of sanctuary and a life of luxury, provided she delivered her medical services with no questions asked.

She didn't know much about the Aegis corporation other than the fact that they were the sole company in the EU that employed refugees en masse. She had made it a point to learn about them when the invasion happened in her free time.

But she had come up blank other than some bland public statements. Only by bribing a lieutenant with a medical discharge had she gotten some reliable info from the intelligence services.

But even that turned out to be squeaky clean, no lawsuits were filed or outstanding debts. There had even been a few spies working for them but even they reported only the fact that everything was above board and it had a pleasant working environment.

This only made her doubt herself more. Why would a seemingly upstanding company want her to come work for them in a semi legal capacity. The only people who wanted a doctor without a paper trail were involved in organized crime.

So were they really that good? That nobody suspected them or were they just beginning to get their feet wet. Or was it that the lieutenant just didn't have the clearance to get the important documents.

Well it didn't really matter to her. Now that the battle was won, it was only a matter of time before someone looked into all the medical discharges. It would probably take months or even years for people to figure it out. But once they did, she could expect a military tribunal and a hefty prison sentence.

So she had no choice but to escape and make sure any trail was beyond cold, before they bothered to check. She had the means, thanks to her prices but the question had been 'Where to'.

She couldn't stay in Tunisia even if she hadn't forged important documents. Her dark skin and hair and pleasant curves if she said so herself, would only attract unwanted attention in a war zone. She would be turning tricks to scrape enough money together to eat when Britannia eventually won.

Anyone with a brain would get out, before they were chained into poverty and misery. And soon the only ones left, would actually fit the stereotypes the britannians liked labeling them with.

She had already signed up for the Aegis program and had hoped to satisfy them with only a few exams to prove her competency. But a personal invitation from Ruben Ashford was game changing. The old man was a billionaire and a key player in Europe. A simple secretary position with him would hold more influence than a low ranked politician.

She wasn't sure what he wanted her for, but she doubted it could be anything too ambitious. He was most likely feeling the effects of old age and wanted a personal doctor who could keep her mouth shut.

His rivals would pay through the nose if he had a crippling mental condition. Like Alzheimer though even Huntington or MS would severely undermine his credibility and whether or not he should be making crucial decisions.

The best way to counter someone blackmailing you was having something to blackmail them back with. So he probably had enough proof to throw her in jail if she didn't do exactly as he said.

She could still risk it, if the pay was good enough. But first she needed to find out how far his reach extended.

* * *

**Author notes**

I delayed posting because I felt I needed another African perspective on the battle which I somewhat satisfied with the last Ashanti pov. I was also delayed due to me moving to another city.

The reason I posted now though is because my laptop got the lethal blue screen and I got scared shitless when I thought I lost all my drafts.

To put things into perspective I drafted up to arc eleven so just over a hundred k words would have been lost. Luckily I anticipated this and put the arcs in doc manager ahead of time. but they would have been automatically erased five days after my laptop crashed thanks to the ninety days rule. And I only did it up to arc nine so I would still have been depressed.

Anyways I fixed my laptop and made a back up elsewhere but it motivated me to stop procrastinating and worrying about whether or not it was good enough. I spent most of my time writing new arcs anyways.

End self pity rant.


	10. They may be ignorant but they are not

**Arc Three**

**Chapter Ten They may be ignorant but they are not stupid**

**Europe, France**

**General Smilas pov**

In a spacious office with a ridiculously good view of the French Alps, a blond woman saluted her superior. "Major Leila Malcal reporting sir." announced the twenty year old as she came to a stop.

"At ease major." commanded general Smilas

Leila dropped her salute and relaxed her posture a bit, as she looked at the man who was responsible for her lightning quick ascension up the ranks.

A silence hung in the air for a moment where the general seemed to hope for some kind of response from her. But when he realized, she wasn't going to offer any small talk, he continued on to the briefing. "You must be wondering why I called you in here?"

"I assumed it was about the victory the African federation managed to obtain from the jaws of death." answered Leila stoically though he picked up on the glimmer of interest in her eyes.

He smiled "Indeed it is, but it isn't to give you orders to go support them, now that we have the advantage in the conflict."

"Why not sir?" Leila asked in confusion "As you said, they managed to repel the britannians by themselves. And once they finish their defenses, they can hold their ground with the minimum amount of resources. It would free up enough resources to push the britannians back all the way to the sea!"

"I agree that now is a good time to kick the enemy while he is down, but the defense committee of Forty hasn't decided on their course of action yet." He held up a hand to silence Major Malcal's retort

"I know, but you can't convince people with merely sound arguments. Every side can be argued convincingly most of the time. So you have to see it from their perspective, so you know which arguments you have to undermine." Lectured general Smilas to his inexperienced but talented subordinate.

"I see, and what arguments do our superiors favor then?" Leila asked with a frown though she seemed genuinely interested in picking them apart.

General Smilas sighed. There was a myriad of them, divided by short term and long term and alongside different disciplines like economics and diplomacy but it also differed country to country. "Well it's more unanswered questions really, that are bugging high command." The rest were just the conventional considerations and deliberations that were mandatory.

"Such as, general?" prompted Leila

"For instance, the fact that there was no way for the Africans to win that battle, without outside help."

Leila blinked twice, opened her mouth, and closed it again before she spoke "I read the reports; they received help from the locals armed with grenade launchers presumably delivered by our secret intelligence officers." She didn't seem to believe it completely but accepted it nonetheless as a reasonable explanation. It often took weeks to figure out what exactly happened during a battle other than the broad strokes. But such details were only of interest to historians, not military officers for whom a working explanation sufficed.

"Yes that is the cover story everyone in the military and soon the public believes, but they never recovered any wrecks belonging to the britannians." pointed out general Smilas. .

"So? Maybe they got buried in the sand, or the Berbers salvaged them to build their own knightmares." Dismissed Leila who didn't see the significance of one fluke.

"A convincing explanation, and one already gaining a lot of ground among the more skeptical officers." general Smilas leaned back in his chair and cast his eyes at his ceiling for a moment "But there is another one, a explanation only a few in the know would come up with."

He chuckled slightly as he drew out the moment. While he rummaged through his drawers.

"General?" said Leila uncertainly as she shifted on the spot.

General Smilas ignored her and threw a heavily redacted file on his desk. Leila looked down at the top page and saw the visage of Prince Lelouch VI Britannia.

The child that had single-handedly engineered the retreat out of Japan and brought low the empire within six months and all without firing a single bullet. A widely acknowledged economic genius and the most wanted man in the Britannian Empire.

"What can you tell me about this man, major?" asked general Smilas to get the conversation started.

"A royal prince that was betrayed by the imperial family and in return betrayed them back, and achieved more damage then we, Africa and Japan have done combined." explained Leila succinctly.

She didn't need to go into details, everyone knew who he was. And general Smilas already knew she had been immensely impressed by what he had done, while still a mere child. Lelouch was the measuring stick she held herself to. Because he had achieved her ideal, a bloodless victory.

General Smilas accepted her answer that demonstrated a passing familiarity at least. "True, but what you don't know is that he also bartered entrance into the EU at the same time as he engineered his attack on Britannia."

Leila gasped and stepped forward "Are you saying he is still alive, and on our side!"

"Alive?" General Smilas quirked an eyebrow at the comment. Apparently, people took Lelouch's silence as proof of his death over the years. Seeing he was confusing the Major, he continued "Yes he is definitely still alive. In fact, I had tea with him a few months ago."

Leila eyes widened at the candid revelation " What,.. Why didn't you tell me before?"

She was overstepping her bounds and despite thinking of her like a daughter, he had to remind her before it caused trouble. "Because there was no need to." answered general Smilas succinctly and authoritatively "This is top secret information I'm divulging here, so know that if you repeat this to anyone else. You will be executed by the military for treason and those you told it to, am I understood _Major_." He stressed her rank to get the point across.

"Yes general Smilas, I understand!" She answered crisply as she straightened back into a stiff posture.

General Smilas softened his expression "Sorry about that Leila, but it had to be said."

"I understand general, don't worry about it." She didn't relax her posture in the slightest though. She had been chastened and it would take time for her to loosen up again. If she ever would, that is.

"Anyways as I was saying, he is alive and bartered his entrance into the EU, by trading on his newfound reputation and the blueprints of the Glasgows. The only reason why we have technological parity with the empire right now is thanks to the actions of this man." He tapped the picture attached to the redacted file.

Leila narrowed her eyes "So he stole state secrets and sold them to his enemies to save his own life?" asked Leila, apparently feeling distinctly less impressed with her childhood hero.

"Oh, nothing as mundane as that." assured general Smilas with a chuckle" He wanted much more than that. He could have entered the EU without it or holed up somewhere else. No he wanted power when he traded that information."

Leila didn't seem reassured to know he was a power hungry genius rather than just a self-interested one. "Why would he want power? "

"There are a few theories, but most say it is to achieve revenge against Britannia. By empowering us, he screws over the empire. "Explained general Smilas "Think back to ten years ago Leila, at that point the empire had an unassailable advantage over us in technology and parity in economy."

Something that the empire was eager to regain and some rumors said they would in less than a year. Those same rumors kept him up at night and a few others who weren't too blind to see.

He didn't let his worries show though. "He reduced their economy below ours and leveled their advantage in technology. Without his interference Britannia would have conquered all of Africa by now, and we would only just now be catching up."

"I guess," admitted Leila hesitantly "But he only bought time for us. We are still going to war and are still at a disadvantage." She stared morosely out the window, no doubt considering her subordinates' fate in the coming war.

" True, but it isn't as hopeless as it was back then. Anyways that isn't what I want to talk about." seeing he now had Leila's attention again, he continued "Despite his deeds, a lot of people in high command don't really trust him on account of him being a Britannian prince or because he betrayed his country."

Leila shrugged "I'm not surprised; defectors have always been kept at arms length. There has never been a guarantee that a traitor won't betray you as well."

"Indeed." agreed general Smilas with Leila's assessment "Our covert intelligence unit has made trips to Africa, but not to supply the Berbers with grenade launchers, but rather to shadow Lelouch."

"What would he want in Africa?" wondered Leila aloud

General Smilas smiled at the question "Our thoughts exactly." He leafed through the pages to grab some Intel about spotted sightings in Africa.

He spread out a couple of pictures on the desk "Lelouch has been wandering in Africa for years, meeting with government officials and performing some kind of operation. But we have never been able to identify what exactly."

Leila looked at the pictures of him meeting with several high-ranking government officials past and current.

"And now with the sudden reversal in the African conflict, you think you finally know what he was doing?" asked Leila to be sure

General Smilas nodded and pointed to certain relevant paragraphs that were highlighted. "To an extent yes, we believe he was laying a trap for the britannians for when they would come to conquer the Sahara, before setting their sights on Europe."

"We have over a dozen recorded conversations wherein he meets with African officials responsible for their defensive works. From that, we found out that the current designs were fed piece by piece by Lelouch, to them in a way that would make them think it was their own idea." explained general Smilas neutrally

"So that's good right." asked Leila uncertainly. She had no clue what her commanding officer was angling for.

General Smilas didn't give her a hint though. He wanted to see what her own opinion was, when presented with the bare facts. "The defensive works are fine for defending the desert but they are too cost ineffective to be used on a wider scale. I know for a fact Lelouch argued for more active means to stop Britannia. But he settled for this, when he didn't get his way."

"They may not be ideal, but it will protect our southern flank, giving us the freedom to strike when we need to." offered Leila trying to sound him out.

"They will." agreed general Smilas "When they are finished building them and everyone knows this. The fast approaching finish line of the construction was what pre-empted Britannia into launching their attack ahead of their schedule. From intelligence reports, we know they were intending to steal the Middle Eastern hover panel design to equip their knightmares with. But they kept postponing it to prevent escalation with the EU until they were ready for it. But with the defensive works suddenly corruption free and nearly complete, Britannia had no choice but to strike now before they became impregnable."

Leila thought she finally understood what her commander was hinting at "So you're saying Lelouch engineered a war with Britannia to take place now, to get his way still. But why would he want us to buy more knightmares to fight a war with Britannia?"

General Smilas wondered how she would respond to this little tidbit. "Perhaps because of the deal he struck for the Glasgow blueprints. I read it myself, so I know that he gets a royalty for every sold frame. He also owns a large amount of stocks indirectly in knightmare manufacturing companies and other defense contractors."

"So he is manipulating us into a war to get rich?" asked Leila appalled. She took a few steps back as she struggled to come to grips with her fallen hero.

General Smilas however couldn't let that happen. She needed to get over her childhood admiration but she couldn't hate the boy, never hate. "That hasn't been confirmed yet, but it would have happened sooner or later, now that Britannia has recovered from their economic crisis." said general Smilas casually as if they were mere facts. Leila would be more receptive to that than some plea that Lelouch wasn't that bad. "This way at least we fight before we are at a disadvantage again." seeing the disgust still on Leila's face, he underlined his point

"Don't forget that we sat back and did nothing when Britannia invaded Japan again four years ago. Britannia barely had the strength to fight us off then, with all their emergency measures still in place. But we let them take back Japan. Thanks to tax hikes in their areas and severe exploitation of the Sakuradite mines, they have bounced back faster than expected."

The unsaid statement was that they let Britannia become the strongest again, without a fight. Mostly because it was profitable to those in charge at the time, to let them.

"Their economic recovery is mostly cosmetic; they are still weaker than they would have us believe!" Argued Leila back, though he knew she loathed those who let them keep up the mirage and helped make it a reality.

"I agree, we are still economically the strongest of the three, which is why they attacked our trade routes in the Mediterranean. If they managed to push their way to the Suez channel and cut off our trade with the Far East. We would lose that advantage."

"So what is it you want me to do general? " asked Leila to finally get to the point

General Smilas sighed as he could dance around the issue no longer. He braced himself for some harsh words and spoke bluntly and plainly "I want you to ingratiate yourself with Lelouch, to find out what he is up to. We know he is responsible for the victory in Africa through unknown means. We thought his actions were just the defensive works there, but apparently there was more to it than that. These plans within plans of his are making high command nervous. So they want an insider in Lelouch's inner circle."

He hadn't laid it on thick, but Leila saw right through it nonetheless. "Are you suggesting I seduce him sir?" She asked incredulously

General Smilas cringed slightly at the accusation but soldiered on "I won't lie to you Major. That was the primary reason why you were chosen by the defense committee for this mission. You have shown intelligence comparable to Lelouch's and are the same age. This will hopefully intrigue Lelouch, because so far any attempt to get a spy close to him has failed. It was like they were talking on two different wavelengths. And they simply didn't have the capacity to hear him, like bats and humans. He was a perfect gentleman off course, but he barely remembered their names despite charming their pants off."

Leila huffed in anger "I'm a commanding officer who belongs on the battlefield not some… "

Whatever she was about to say got cut off by general Smilas "I know Leila, but he showed interest when he read your proposal about your W-O unit a while back." general Smilas tried redirecting her attention "Which isn't surprising since he is practically the only other employer for refugees in the EU."

"So he is behind the Aegis Corporation." Realized Leila with a start. She unintentionally let her frown slip as she pondered the implications.

"You've heard of them?" Deflected general Smilas with amusement lacing his tone.

"Of course, many of my recruits failed to get into their recruitment program and only signed up as a last resort." admitted a distracted Leila freely.

General Smilas chuckled "Ah yes the age old problem of convincing people to join the civil service, when you can't pay more than the private sector. Or in our case when you have extremely hazardous working conditions."

Leila shook her head slightly "I don't mind them living a better life if they can. My proposal was intended to help them and solve our manpower shortage at the same time."

General Smilas nodded in recognition "Your solution killed two flies with one stone, but it won't be enough." He said with a sigh "I'm pretty sure that before long we will be forced to conscript our civilians to manufacture enough equipment for the war, even if we aren't forced to send them to the frontlines."

"The populace won't take kindly to that." commented Leila unnecessarily

"Indeed when the time comes for that, the politicians responsible will be forced out of office most likely, unless the public understands the direness of the situation."

"Let's hope it doesn't come to that."

General Smilas nodded in agreement as he looked out the window. After taking a moment he continued "Now as for your approach, Lelouch has no permanent base of operations. He continuously moves around all over the globe. This is primarily to shake off any possible assassins after him."

General Smilas flipped a few pages towards the recent sightings "During the siege of Sfax he was spotted in six different countries in Asia. But we believe that one to be a fake; either that or he didn't need to interfere personally and left it up to his second in command Jeremiah Gottwald."

"Gottwald sir? " asked Leila while burning the green haired man's face into her memory.

"He is a former margrave who served on the royal guard of Empress Marianne. Apparently Gottwald's loyalty to her goes beyond the grave and has transferred to her children. The man is almost fanatical in his devotion to the prince, never give him reason to believe you are a threat to him or he will kill you without blinking."

Leila nodded in acknowledgement "Suggested course of action to bypass him."

"Don't hide your military background, he knows or will know you are a trained soldier. If you lie to him about that, he will suspect you every step of the way or just kill you to be sure." warned general Smilas grimly, even he had trouble getting the Margrave to not rest his hand on something that could be used as a weapon.

"Friendly guy." said Leila sarcastically

"He is," chuckled general Smilas "Once you get to know him. He just gets overly sensitive when you threaten the prince or insult him in any way."

"I see." said Leila taking his word for it "And what is the best way to ingratiate myself with the prince."

"It's to insult him." deadpanned general Smilas

"Wait! Can you repeat that again general, I must have misheard."

"You need to insult him Major." said the general with a chuckle " Don't give me that look I'm being serious here. Research shows he only trusts people who have the nerve to tell him he is wrong. You don't have to be right when you say he is wrong but it does have to make a lot of sense or else he will think you are a random idiot. "

"I still don't see, how that will make him trust me?"

"By itself it won't, but it will establish your credibility. Once you have that, you can start to talk to him as an equal. This was admittedly our biggest obstacle until now. Because of that, we never made it passed phase one."

"Phase one? Is there a phase two as well then?" asked Leila curiously as she continued skimming through the redacted file. He knew there wasn't any mention of phases in there, simply because it was too sensitive. If Lelouch ever found out about it then he would be furious to say the least.

"Naturally, phase one is establishing contact and credibility which will open the door to friendship. I've managed this myself but I haven't made any more progress since then. So we are going to rely on you for phase two."

"And that is?" Prompted Leila

"To understand phase two you need to understand Lelouch. That man cares about one person more than anything else in the world, namely his sister Nunally. If we just put a gun to her head, we could make him do anything we wanted. But it would only be a matter of time before he turned the tables around. But there are other ways to exploit his singular focus on her."

Leila jumped to the natural conclusion. "Are you saying I need to befriend his sister, to get close to Lelouch?"

"I wish it were that simple, by all reports his sister was a very trusting and friendly individual but sadly she is in a coma. The doctors don't expect her to ever wake up, but Lelouch still visits her bedside regularly despite whatever ploys he has going on."

General Smilas took a deep breath to steel his nerves before uttering the despicable words "Phase two is getting through his stoic façade by using his sister. When he is in the hospital and only then, does he drop his defenses. You will have to somehow use that opportunity to bond with him."

"You want me to use a crippled comatose girl to manipulate her brother?" asked Leila incredulously

"It sounds bad, but yes that is the gist of it." admitted general Smilas

Leila seemed uncomfortable with that admission and wanted to leave the room judging from her glances towards it "Was there anything else general?"

"No major, just find out what Lelouch is planning and whether or not it is beneficial to the EU. But don't antagonize him, if you don't have to, we got this far thanks to him. I'd hate to see what would happen if he turned against us." general Smilas told her to keep the redacted file, so she could study it for her mission prep.

Major Malcal saluted "Understood sir, I will proceed with caution."

General Smilas returned the salute with a smile. "Good, you are dismissed Major."

Leila left the room, no doubt pondering what she had just gotten herself into.

She couldn't inform commander Anou about her mission, or else they would both be shot. So she had to make up an excuse to go socializing with Lelouch.

General Smilas would back any excuse she gave or even pardon her if she went AWOL for a few weeks. It was the least he could do for her. Especially since she hadn't brought up the fact that she was technically still engaged to her older brother.

* * *

**Ruben Ashford****'****s house in Paris**

Once Lelouch had raised an eyebrow at Ruben's new assistant, and they exchanged the mandatory digs about cradle robbing and gold-diggers. They moved on to business.

"I saw the news Lelouch, it seems operation QUICKSAND went off without a hitch." said Ruben once they were comfortably sequestered away into his private office.

Lelouch smiled but he remained pragmatic. He didn't need compliments, he wanted results and for that he needed Ruben's help. "There were a few minor problems Sayako informed me about." He started off but tempered it with "But nothing to worry about."

"Minor problems?" Ruben questioned gently, while his arm was already reaching for his bottle. Lelouch stifled a sigh, the man really needed to get his alcoholism under control. Perhaps he should ask Milly to try to….Nah that might just cause his heart to give out from all the stress.

Lelouch politely declined the offered drink and waited for Ruben to wet his whistle before he continued. "It seems not everyone has bought our Berber cover story, which will complicate our letter of Marquee plan. But we should be able to adjust, though it will decelerate our timeline more than I'm comfortable with."

Ruben swirled the golden liquid in his glass as he mused "Hmm if high command suspects your involvement in Africa, they will be hesitant to comply with anything you or our proxies suggest." analyzed Ruben

"Indeed, which is why it is necessary to buy ourselves more time than I had initially expected" grumbled Lelouch slightly. It was annoying, but it was a mere speed bump in the grand scheme of things.

Ruben arched an eyebrow and leaned back into his chair "Oh, We can hold them in the African desert quite comfortably for months, possibly years. So if we merely need to buy ourselves some time then QUICKSAND will be more than enough."

"Exactly! "exclaimed Lelouch as he leaned forward and pointed his finger at Ruben "That kind of mentality will soon spread through Europe, ruining the momentum I tried to create." Ruben looked sufficiently chastised for his lazy approach so Lelouch subsided and leaned back into his chair. "I can't stop operation QUICKSAND or Europe will be overrun before I have time to right the ship. But with high command suspicious of me, my hands are tied. So I will have no choice but to goad them into action another way."

"I see." said Ruben tentatively, his drink temporarily forgotten "But how will you inspire them into action?"

Lelouch smirked as he was about to reveal his latest scheme. The setting even reminded him of the last time, when he was but a ten-year-old boy. Even the alcoholic beverage in Ruben's hand was the same. The setting however also involuntarily reminded him on what happened just outside that office.

The feeling of helplessness pervaded his entire being again and he gripped his armrests fiercely in an attempt to regain himself. The self accusatory thoughts ran amuck inside his head again daring him to contradict them, that he could have saved his sister if he had only tried.

But he put on a brave face despite the slight sheen of sweat suddenly clinging to him "Simple, I will inspire the Japanese in area Eleven to stand up and fight. If I make a large campaign for justice to fight Britannia's oppression, it will reach Europe as well." He couldn't stop having the thoughts. But luckily he had already predicted Ruben's answers, making it slightly easier to keep up his part of the conversation.

Ruben pretended not to notice as he was already used to it and didn't push him on it when he didn't feel like sharing. Instead he mulled it over for a few minutes while sipping his drink to give him an excuse not to answer right away.

"I see, an occupied area rebelling and possibly escaping the collar Britannia has on them would be good propaganda for the politicians to show. It would demonstrate that Britannia isn't invincible and increases the trust the people have in the government. That they too can defeat Britannia!"

Lelouch smiled wickedly, but it was marred slightly, by his pale face and the bags under his eyes "Indeed, despite news broadcasts saying there won't be a war with Britannia, people still fear it from the bottom of their hearts. If the politicians can allay those fears, they will. And the news broadcasts will be skewed against Britannia and in my favor."

"That's going a bit overboard Lelouch." chided Ruben "They will be neutral at best, so as to preserve their neutrality. They won't openly back a terrorist organization no matter what kind of pretty words you spout."

"Of course, but neutrality is all I need. Sometimes all you need to do to say yes, is to say nothing at all. Their silence will be all the compliance I will need, for now at least."

"Will you be traveling to Japan as soon as possible then?" asked Ruben after his eyes momentarily flickered towards the framed photographs on his desk.

Lelouch knew those photographs were all of Milly. Ruben didn't hold that much affection for his only son, who was a greedy fool. No, only Milly was worthy of cluttering up his work space.

He had to remember to give her a proper goodbye before he left. This little trip was going to take months and he couldn't go back for a quick visit. "No not just yet, I received reports from my engineers tasked with salvaging the captured knightmares, now that the Africans have pushed the britannians back. Apparently it was the new Sutherland model rather than just ordinary glasgows. We haven't been able to get our hands on their blueprints yet, only whispers about their specs." Sorting through the data would give him more than enough time to break the news gently to Milly. This wasn't like Sfax or any other trip. He would actually have to resign from the student council for this.

"So do you intend to destroy them and leave them for the Africans to find and sell to the EU; or do you want to sell it to them yourself to earn more money for our plans?" Asked Ruben carelessly despite owning a large share in knightmare production.

Hmm propping up the African federation to buy time or hoard it himself to make it easier to topple the EU and then the empire. Time versus means, which was the better advantage?

"Either option sounds tempting but I think I will let the Africans find it. I doubt I can wrestle another royalty out of them for the Sutherland. So I will just argue that my royalty states any knightmare not just the Glasgow when I brokered my deal."

Ruben snorted at that "They will refuse of course, despite clearly stated terms, but they might give you a consolation prize." added Ruben with a wicked smirk. He was already daydreaming about the political maneuvering he could do, to force them to comply or to hold it over their heads.

Lelouch however already knew which option he wanted. "Indeed, my compliance with their terms will make them feel they owe me something which will be useful when I propose the letter of Marquee!"

"Hmm the rules of reciprocity." mused Ruben "I never quite expected a sales technique to work on such a global level."

Lelouch scoffed "The leaders of the world are still human, and thus have the same weaknesses like the rest."

Ruben conceded the point while giving a meaningful look at Lelouch at the same time. "True, but expect them to have the same training and will be more disinclined to let it work on them."

"They may realize what is going on, but the public won't." countered Lelouch heatedly somewhat angered by that _look_. "If I make my presence and compliance public then it will force their hand."

"I think your public declaration of working with the EU will do more harm than good for now. "Tempered Ruben "It will paint a bulls-eye on the EU and then they can blame the coming war with Britannia on you!"

That brought him up short and he subsided quickly "Hmm good point." He conceded and then added wryly "I didn't want to be a martyr for Britannia, so why should I become a scapegoat for the EU." in a mutter

"You certainly do end up in a lot of situations, where you could be used as a political tool." commented Ruben good naturedly

Lelouch shrugged "The price of being royalty I guess." The memory of his mother's assassination flashed before his eyes but he ruthlessly squashed it down again.

Ruben winced a bit at that word "Speaking of royalty, I received a call from the hospital that there was a spike in your sister's brain activity " He segued awkwardly

Lelouch didn't outwardly react, but inside he ran a dozen scenarios where his sister might awaken "I…see…" He answered neutrally. Though he could practically feel his heartbeat pounding in his ear.

"We shouldn't get our hopes up, but we should go visit her." advised Ruben gently and somewhat restrained. Like he thought he was now something fragile that had to be handled with the utmost care.

Lelouch shakily stood up "Yes…We should leave for the hospital as soon as possible." He confirmed in a soft-spoken voice but the underlying tone of hope was undeniable.

_Nunnally _

* * *

**Author notes**

The last arc is the only arc with OC pov and from this arc onward it will be told by cannon characters. I had to write the last arc from a OC perspective simply because there wasn't a rational reason for a cannon character to be there

Lelouch launched into longwinded monologues in the first chapter for the same reason. I prefer a tedious monologue over a dialogue partner that doesn't make sense.

**Delay **

I felt like reading other fandoms rather than editing.

Ps inspiration came from the siege on Stalingrad where enough time was bought with people's lives to turn the war around.


	11. Who is the manipulative mastermind again

**Chapter Eleven: Who is the manipulative mastermind again? **

**Hospital, coma ward **

**Leila pov**

Leila couldn't believe what she had been forced to do. But when she got the report that Lelouch was making travel arrangements as soon as he landed on European soil to somewhere else in less than a month. She knew she had to act fast with something a bit rash, but hopefully the spontaneity would improve her acting rather than worsen it.

She had long ago accepted doing dishonourable things for the sake of the people. It was the primary reason she could accept sending refugees to kill zones without suffering a massive breakdown from all the guilt. She would soon shoulder the deaths of dozens, if not hundreds on her shoulders; so this shouldn't even be compared to that.

It was a mere drop in the bucket of the horrors she was willing to commit in service to her country. But faking a brain spike in a comatose girl to lure her brother to the hospital was bugging her nonetheless.

Despite the thoroughness of the redacted report she received, it didn't have the most crucial piece of the puzzle, Lelouch's current location. With the deadline imposed on her with his imminent departure to probably set in motion another part of his plan she needed to establish contact as soon as possible.

She didn't think rushing it was advisable though. So she was just going to follow him when he left to 'accidentally' run into him at another time and place. For safety's sake she had her most enthusiastic soldier spar with a fresh recruit. Akito had broken his ribs when the recruit mouthed off and was unable to block his kick. She had hoped for a simple sprain but accepted the broken bones without complaint. It gave her reason to be at the hospital in case Jeremiah decided to check up on her. If she got spotted.

She could have just assigned a soldier to tail him to prevent being seen herself. But her soldiers weren't trained for surveillance and if they got spotted her target would only get agitated. She hadn't forgotten general Smilas' statement that putting a gun to Nunnally's head would make Lelouch do anything but also make him an enemy. If Lelouch spotted clumsy soldiers around his sister, it would put the proverbial gun to his head. It would send an unintentional message that they could kill her at anytime.

For this reason she had deliberated on whether or not to wear her customary military uniform. But general Smilas had also warned her not to pretend to be something she was not.

She wished they had a spy that could talk on the same level as Lelouch. So she wouldn't have to. She didn't mind talking to him but trying to convince someone to like her wasn't her strong suit.

From her perch at one of the windows covering the front entrance, she spotted Lelouch entering the building.

Soon he would be on this floor to visit his sister. So she had no need to move for now. She sat back in her chair and picked up a magazine about the latest fashion trends in the EU. She had no interest in the rag but it seemed like something a girl her age would be interested in. Though she didn't want to look like a vapid girl to him. If she got spotted however, making sure he didn't look at her twice was the objective here.

It didn't take long before Lelouch followed by an elderly gentleman reached the floor and rushed into the room with his sister in it. His smoothness and lack of looking around for directions confirmed her general's assessment that he frequently visited. Maybe she could have just waited for one of the regular visits?

After squashing any lingering doubts, she settled in to wait. It would probably be one or two hours tops before he left the building again. She read through the magazine to pass the time. Once she was done with her current one she grabbed another one. This time it was about nature, so it was more interesting to her. But before long she was finished with that one as well. So she reached for another and another.

It took quite some time but she had depleted the entire stack of magazines lying in the waiting room. She was getting antsy, did she miss his departure when she was absorbed in the nature magazine or something?

No she had been paying attention to any sounds while she read. So she should have heard him. So far the only ones who left had been the old man and the doctor, after he gave his explanation.

After thinking it over, she finally decided to peek into the room as she walked by. She got up and took care that her steps were soft but not too soft to not startle him. If he suddenly spotted her when he hadn't heard anything...

When she reached the door opening she saw she needn't have bothered. Lelouch was in a chair holding his sister's hand with his full attention boring into her innocent face as if he was trying to force the universe to make her move. She felt a stab in her heart in the form of extreme guilt that she had done such a cruel thing to this man. Giving false hope only to crush it with reality in order to exploit him.

Lelouch suddenly turned around and spotted her "Who are you? " He demanded brusquely

She hadn't noticed before but she had slowed her steps when she spotted the mesmerizing sight. And now she had to explain herself to her victim.

"I'm Leila Malcal pleased to meet you." She greeted as friendly as possible. She thought it would be best not to mention the faint traces that he had been crying.

Men were notoriously stubborn about not showing any emotional weakness in public, there was no need to put him on the defensive.

"What are you doing here miss Malcal?" He asked suspiciously, while he drank in her military uniform. She noticed that his gaze didn't linger on her breasts like most men. Instead he seemed to be trying find any inconsistencies in her uniform that could indicate it was a fake. If his attention towards her uniform's identifying details was anything to go by.

"I'm visiting one of my subordinates who got hurt in a training exercise, his opponent broke his ribs with a vicious kick." She answered truthfully

"I didn't think the W-0 unit trained in hand to hand combat." muttered Lelouch under his breath

Leila wasn't surprised he knew about the W-O unit after all she knew he had read her proposal from general Smilas, but she had momentarily forgot about it. So she was caught of guard which resulted in the necessary emotional response quite convincingly "Oh, I didn't think we were well-known amongst the public?"

"Well my father has a large interest in the military, and because of that I have one as well." Lelouch smoothly lied with the truth to cover up his knowledge of a branch of the military that shouldn't be known to the majority of the public. More through ignorance and complacency rather than any real attempt to cover them up. But the fact remained that he shouldn't know about it. If he was a normal civilian.

But his way of covering it up was interesting, he told the partial truth making it impossible to catch any signs of lying while still lying. Not to mention that it was a polite way to say his father the Emperor wanted to rule the world and his disobedient son wanted to stop him.

Leila decided to poke some fun at him "Like father like son huh?" according to the general you had to be insulting to break the ice with Lelouch.

Lelouch's face immediately soured "I'm nothing like that man!" He spat out venomously

"You two don't get along huh?" commented Leila as she watched Lelouch regain his control over his emotions. Apparently she struck a nerve as she planned. She may have gone too far but at least he wouldn't forget her or dismiss her out of hand.

Lelouch scoffed "You can say that, the normal absentee father problems." He tried to explain away quickly

That was a bit of an understatement but oh well "Well, at least you still have a father. My parents got murdered because of his dissenting political opinion." That was a bit more openhearted than she wanted to be. But she had to bear her heart on her sleeve to get him to open up to her.

Lelouch softened his expression somewhat "I'm sorry for your loss, but don't say I'm better off just because my father is alive. Parents can cause more emotional damage unwittingly than you would think!"

Yeah sending your children off to die in a war zone can be pretty neglectful, but she doubted it was unwittingly.

"I guess it is different for orphans." admitted Leila in a small voice as she looked away. "Everyone bears some emotional scars but to say one is bigger than the other is an exercise in futility. I won't presume that much, but those who bear similar wounds can understand one another more easily."

She was angling for the fact that his mother was killed ostensibly for political reasons, the same as her parents. She couldn't commiserate on his father issues, she doubted anyone could. But his mother should suffice to make him feel she could understand him.

Lelouch took a moment to ponder her words before answering "I suppose" He said noncommittally

Leila swept into the room to change the subject now that the insult had been delivered and the seed planted. "How is she?" She asked though she already knew the answer.

It shook Lelouch out of his musings and brought a light back into his eyes. She wasn't sure if it was tears glistening in the sunlight or not. But she wasn't going to ask for her own sake.

"As well as can be expected, she might recover even. We finally had a promising sign that she might wake up. Of course it isn't anything definite… But still." Lelouch explained hesitantly.

Leila had read that Lelouch always kept his cards close to his vest but she had already received more answers than she had expected. Maybe the general was right when he said that Lelouch dropped his defences inside these hospital walls.

She sat down next to the bed in one of the open chairs and started to make polite conversation to pass the time. It was a long-range of idle subjects they conversed about; but it wasn't long before it descended into a plethora of political and scientific ones. She had to strain to remember all her lessons from general Smilas and Anna Clement to keep up with him.

But her passing familiarity was enough it seemed, because he seemed to be actively engaging in the conversation with interest. He asked her opinion for its own sake rather than to create an opening to insert his own. She tried to shift the conversation to military affairs where she was more comfortable. But he firmly kept it out of those waters every time she tried to adjust course.

It seemed he didn't want to come across as too interested after his initial admission to cover up his W-O unit slip. He still hadn't even told her his name and she didn't doubt that Nunnaly was going to be moved to another hospital after this.

She wasn't deterred though and kept up her end of the conversation without breaking stride. She needed to become his friend before he would trust her with anything. His name was enough of a liability to kill him over, so it was understandable that he didn't give it. In fact she preferred it this way, if he had given her a fake name than she would be stuck. If she called him on it, he would get spooked.

It was better to postpone exchanging names until he was more comfortable with her. With that goal in mind she kept talking until the sun went down and Lelouch finally got up to leave because visiting hours were over.

She followed him out the hospital intending to ask him to meet up again "I had a really pleasant time talking to you. There aren't many people who have as much of an interest in the so-called 'boring subjects', that are my age." She reached into her purse to grab her card.

"Here's my card, call me and we can set up another meeting to have a fun discussion." She quickly looked away to fake a blush or just plain nervousness and embarrassment.

Lelouch took the card from her but before he could make an excuse. She closed the distance and gave him a hug; to shut him up and to reinforce the positive feelings attached to his memory. She doubted anyone had given him a hug in a long time with the exception of Milly Ashford, so it should be effective.

She let him go and made a quick excuse that she had to go before he could say more. She quickly walked out of hearing distance. Once she turned a corner she stopped.

She took out her compact mirror from her purse and used it, to look around the corner. Through her mirror she could see that Lelouch was standing there still, seemingly conflicted before he tucked her card into his pocket and walked away.

It went as well as could be expected.

She put her mirror back after checking up her hair in case anyone was watching her. She then hailed a cab to take her back to the base. She had done all she could for now, the rest was up to Lelouch.

* * *

**Jeremiah pov**

**Roof of a nearby office building. **

Jeremiah was laid out on his exercise mat that he had bought hurriedly at a store devoted to sports. It was thin and comfortable to lie on for hours on end because it was made for yoga practitioners in mind. He knew he was going to need it during his vigil.

If past visits were anything to go by, he would be stuck here until the sun went down. But he understood his lord's devotion to his sister and shared the sentiment. His only regret was that he couldn't be there beside his lord. But he supposed he could have Sayako cover Lelouch for an afternoon. So he could see Nunnaly at a later date himself.

For now he had to contend himself with looking at her through the scope of his rifle. It felt disconcerting and wrong to see his sworn charge through the sniper sights. But he had to cover Lelouch in case someone tried to ambush him. Lelouch had enough presence of mind to realize this brain spike could be used to lure him out and had him posted on a nearby rooftop to provide tactical support when needed.

He would prefer to be in the same room but he knew he was of more use here. He couldn't possibly see the assailants coming in time if he was in that room. Luckily for him Sayako had snuck in through the backdoor and now manned the nurse station. If there was a direct threat he couldn't take out with his sniper rifle she would take care of it.

He listened to the explanation the doctor gave through the earpiece in Lelouch's ear. He gave some input when they discussed things and heard them talking to Nunnaly to hopefully help her wake up.

After a while he heard and saw Ruben announce he needed to get back to his school. He wasn't bothered by him leaving, it was expected. What did irk him was the girl in the waiting room Sayako had reported was still sitting there after an hour.

It was annoying but not unusual, hospitals were notorious for making people wait hours before they got help if it wasn't life threatening. To be sure he had Sayako look her up.

Her military background raised an eyebrow but it wasn't a cause for alarm when he found out why she was there. In any case a single soldier wasn't much of a threat unless she got the drop on them.

Well she wasn't until she got up and started walking towards Lelouch. He quickly warned Lelouch on the radio but the prince wasn't listening, too absorbed in his thoughts about Nunnaly.

Only when the girl stopped in the door opening did he finally get through to Lelouch. He had the girl dead centre in his rifle's sights, ready to put her down at a moments notice if she made any threatening moves!

He listened tensely to their conversation. But not so much the words as the tone of voice and volume, anything that would indicate hostility.

He confirmed the W-0 training accident for Lelouch when he asked and waited for further orders. They never came, instead he was treated to the rare occasion that Lelouch relaxed and had a meaningful conversation with someone else besides his closest friends. Who were generally adults and his employees with the exception of Milly.

He had his rifle pointed at the back of miss Malcal's head the entire time but his finger was off the trigger. He didn't believe she was a threat for now. So he relaxed to prevent any accidents.

Hours passed, but still the girl stayed and talked. Eventually they left when visiting hours were over. Sayako quietly shadowed them as they walked through the hospital corridors.

When they were outside of the hospital he reacquired them in his sight, curious if the girl was making a move now.

Instead she handed him a business card asking him to call her. It almost sounded like she was fishing for a date. He didn't think he would see the prince date anytime soon with his focus elsewhere. But maybe the girl would succeed since she managed to distinguish herself from the other applicants.

He was so distracted by his musings about the prince's love life that he was caught off guard when the girl suddenly hugged him. He immediately feared a stab attempt was taking place, but no pained grunt came from the prince. And in any case they were too close now to take a shot.

It pained him but he had no choice but to see how this played out and hope for the best. After what felt like an eternity the girl finally released him from her grasp and quickly moved away.

He ordered the prince to do a quick pat down to check for any bombs she may have slipped in his pockets. The search came up empty along with possible listening devices that may have been more likely. But he had immediately feared for the worst and jumped to conclusions.

He followed the girl after the prince reassured him with a chuckle and saw her checking her hair like a nervous girl, who had just hugged a guy she liked. He informed the prince who just chuckled some more before he turned around and left.

He didn't miss that Lelouch hadn't thrown away her card. So he may see more of miss Malcal in the near future.

* * *

**Ashford university **

**Milly Ashford **

Milly was directing her minions around to prepare for the play that was opening in less than two weeks. Props had to be made or found and lines had to be rehearsed, but her people were all together too lax in their attitude.

She wished Lelouch was here to organize things. She had no trouble ordering people around and keeping them motivated but it was going too inefficiently to make the deadline, if things kept up like this.

When she had suggested to Lelouch to get a girlfriend. She hadn't expected him to actually do it. But she had seen enough candid pictures of Lelouch meeting up with Leila Malcal in several locations to confirm the rumors.

It was quite advantageous politically speaking for Lelouch to date Leila Malcal, but she hadn't thought Lelouch would date merely for business and not pleasure.

He had despised all the fake relations put on display to the world to secure business advantages. She remembered his passionate speech on how he despised the very thought his sister might be auctioned off to some old geezer.

The pictures seemed convincing enough that he actually liked her but she knew Lelouch well enough to know he was a skilful actor. Which was no small part of the reason why she wanted him in the play. Sure the tickets virtually guaranteed to be sold to his fan base just to see him perform would be nice to break even. But she wanted a masterpiece not something to make a quick buck on.

She already did that when she auctioned off the part of Juliet in the play, pending auditions of course. If the winner sucked at acting, she would have had to content herself with being a double and only acting out the kiss scene. Luckily that wasn't necessary because the winner was a solid actress but she was only registered at Ashford university since this year. Which was unusual by itself because the university didn't get that many transfers and no one recognized the girl.

It all pointed towards it being Sayako in disguise, in an attempt to protect Lelouch's lips. Most likely she would kiss him on the cheek during the kissing scene. That is, if she finally managed to wrangle Lelouch into the play to begin with.

She had counted somewhat on Lelouch giving in after he saw the promotion posters with his face on it around school. But he wasn't bothering to show up at all now that he had crossed the threshold of intolerable absences with his spontaneous visit to Nunnaly. If this kept up she would be forced to beg him as a last resort to get him to play along. She promised he would be in it to the whole school and she didn't want to look foolish.

Biting the bullet she pulled out her phone and dialled Lelouch "Hey Lelouch, I hear you're busy stealing one unsuspecting girl's virginity!" it got the expected flustered response

Now that she had him off-balance and firmly denying he was in a relationship she pressed her advantage "Oh that's too bad, in that case you're free to come to the uni and play the part then?"

She cut of his excuses " I know your plans don't necessitate you being there 24/7. So what are you really spending your time on, are miss Malcal's panties that hard to bite through?"

She ignored him as she continued "Maybe I should sent her an invite to the play. So she can watch you perform?"

"Well you can refuse all you want but you're still on the billing. If you don't show up she will think you chickened out."

That brought Lelouch up short and she could tell by his silence that he was if not on the fence; then already thinking how to accept without losing face.

She decided to push him over."Remember that image thing we talked about Lelouch. Well craven, coward and yellow aren't good nicknames for a commanding officer."

She could hear him grumbling before he grudgingly agreed while muttering he would have his revenge. Milly didn't doubt that, Lelouch had a long memory. But she could take whatever he decided to dish out and would probably laugh her ass off while doing it. Lelouch's pranks tended to be overly complicated but still somehow worked. They were funny in their absurd practicality alone!

She still remembered fondly the time she had accidentally dyed her clothes the colors of the rainbow without realizing it. She looked like a clown during a speech in front of the whole school and he had warned her beforehand and still tricked her into doing it!

She cut off her fond reminiscing and focused "So you'll stop by tomorrow then? ….. Excellent I will see you then!" He hung up the phone before she could ask about his ulterior motives with miss Malcal, how rude!

Okay she did more blackmailing than begging but there was no need to get his panties in a twist. But his one-eighty when she threatened him with losing face in front of miss Malcal was interesting. Was there really something going on or was he more concerned about subverting the loyalty of the W-O unit?

* * *

**Author notes **

In this story Leila does not have a geass for the simple reason that I have no clue what it is. It may be revealed in the next episode of akito the exiled or it could take years, so for simplicity's and continuity's sake I will act as if Leila and CC never met.


	12. Who's side am i on again? I forgot

**Chapter Twelve: Who's side am I on again? I forgot. **

**Leila pov **

**France, Military base, waiting room. **

Leila was dreading her plans for the evening but not because they involved anything dreadful. In actuality they were quite innocent and relaxing, she had been invited to a play of Romeo and Juliet. She hadn't read the book but knew enough from movies to know what it was about. It sounded interesting enough and it was a good chance to mingle with Lelouch.

But exactly that part had her worried for her mission's sake. She knew he went by Lelouch _Lamperouge _at that school rather than _VI Britannia_. So this meant he was going to reveal himself as his alter ego rather than his real identity.

Well she wasn't entirely sure because the invitation came from Milly Ashford instead of Lelouch. So he may have nothing to do with it. But she doubted he wasn't pulling her strings, despite rumors of Milly's eccentricities.

The fact that he was supposedly starring as Romeo didn't make any sense to her either. Wasn't he supposed to keep a low profile?

Maybe he was doing it to earn the affection of the students? But how they fitted into his plans was a mystery to her. Maybe it was a long-term thing considering he planned the defensive works of Africa seven years in advance? Well as far as they could tell.

She supposed he wanted to earn the loyalty of his future employees by being good friends with them now. They didn't know he would be their boss, so a small gesture would go a long way once he revealed himself.

The longer she thought about it, the more it made sense. But why did he need a loyal workforce? The Aegis corporation had many branches but most of them focussed on the civilian sector. The closest it came to actual military production was owning a large amount of stock in several defense contractors. So either he needed them because he feared competing companies luring his workers away. Or he was secretly building weapons in his civilian factories…

"Come in Leila."

She put the matter to rest when she heard general Smilas call her into his office.

She saluted him as soon as she reached the middle of the room. He gave her a lazy salute back "I take it you know why I called you here?" He asked with a small smile on his face.

She shifted a bit nervously as she was reminded about her date/mission "I assumed you wanted to give me some advice." her rosy cheeks clearly indicating what kind of advice she expected to hear.

General Smilas looked momentarily taken aback "Hmm not exactly, but I'm willing to try if you feel like you need some?" at her instinctive shake of the head he chuckled some more in relief. "Good, I'm a bit rusty in that area if I say so myself. No I asked you in here to promote you to commander of the W-0 unit Leila, congratulations!" He beamed at her.

Leila was flabbergasted "What! But I thought there was no way the council of Forty would let a twenty year old girl command an entire regiment!"

He nodded "That was true before and is still true today. Unless you showed brilliance in an actual operation they wouldn't have promoted you." general Smilas informed her grimly

Leila narrowed her eyes at him and watched him like a hawk looking for any signs of deception "So why did they give me a promotion now?" The proverbial 'but' had to be there somewhere.

General Smilas sighed in exasperation as if it should be obvious. However, he softened his expression while he explained it to her. "It's to facilitate your mission Leila. They know Lelouch has been sniffing around the W-0 unit a lot in the last month." He paused for a moment to let her jump in if she had a sudden epiphany; but she hadn't.

So he continued undaunted by her incomprehension, though her pride felt somewhat bruised by his easy acceptance "They believe Lelouch thinks he can use them in some manner. They aren't sure what, but they aren't terribly concerned at the moment. They are willing to use it as a lure to draw out Lelouch's intentions."

Her mouth made an O-shape as it dawned on her before it thinned again into a fine line, as she understood the insult it was to her W-0 unit, to be so callously disregarded as bait. But then the question arose: 'How was she going to lure Lelouch?'

"Are you saying I need pledge my loyalty to Lelouch?" asked Leila in confusion.

General Smilas nodded though he was quick to temper it "Only on the surface, you will still be loyal to the EU at heart. But we really need some bargaining chips to gain access to his plans. So far, you have become his friend and possible love interest but it isn't moving fast enough for the council's liking. So they decided to up the ante before he executes his next plan. "It went unsaid that Lelouch hadn't given even an inkling as to his next plan. Some thought the 'Sutherland negotiations' was his next 'grand plan' but Leila had immediately recognized it as a minor one that didn't matter, if it succeeded or not.

But she had only managed to kiss him so far; and that wasn't enough to force him to tell her anything. If anything it seemed like she was headed for a dead-end. "I'm not sure if I can manage that convincingly." She admitted sheepishly. Leila had never been comfortable talking about her love life to girls her own age, let alone a grizzled old man who was also her boss. "Lelouch has invited me to his play where he stars as Lelouch 'Lamperouge'. This means I haven't gained his trust enough to learn his 'VI Britannia' name from him."

General Smilas tapped his fingers on his desk as he considered this. "I know but he might reveal it still, if you casually reveal you now hold a level of autonomous control on how the W-O unit operates."

She gasped…

Leila instantly understood that to be free from the military chain of command also meant that any actions fell solely on her head alone. Meaning that any war crimes wouldn't be excused as a soldier under duress from its government. Unless she received a pardon in the future, she would be destined to go to jail or die.

Leila nervously shifted her feet back and forth "Are you are writing a blank pardon sir?"

General Smilas smiled encouragingly at her but it felt slightly hollow, as if faked somewhat. "The council of Forty has promised to do so, provided you don't attack the EU itself. Other than that, you are free to engage in military activities at your discretion. However, if you are caught on foreign soil, we will disavow any knowledge of your activities. We will provide logistical support whenever possible. But we cannot have the entire union dragged into a war."

"So I'm basically going rogue with permission huh?" summarized Leila. She really didn't like this; The chances of her soldiers being out in the cold when they needed supplies and going up against overwhelming odds just went up even more. it wasn't very heartening considering how low they were to begin with.

Leila felt as if she was a dog thrown out of its home and forced to beg for scraps from the neighbors with the vague promise of getting a meal if she was a good little doggy. Getting caught peeing on someone else's lawn was off course a direct disownment and a veritable death sentence; despite being ordered to pee on it.

She narrowed her eyes and glared with abandon at the man who she considered more of a father than her adoptive family. To think he would so casually throw her life away and her subordinates as well. It was painful to realize he was no different from the Europeans she hated so much.

General Smilas interrupted her train of thought. "Leila you have to consider the status of your unit in the eyes of the council." as if reading her mind.

Leila huffed but didn't answer. So he did it for her "They are considered expendable pawns meant to plug holes and buy time." He held up a hand to forestall Leila's angry retort "I know they are human just like the European soldiers but they aren't politically speaking. In a way you are better off now than you were before."

'But they aren't politically speaking…' Her nerves had been strained to the max to keep calm but that phrase tipped her over.

"How can I possibly be better off than before! I'm basically being told to go die in disgrace in service to our country!" Her glare left no doubt, who she was blaming for this order. She knew her rage might have been better directed on the council of Forty but they were only a vague abstraction in her mind. General Smilas however was right in front of her and a concrete target to lash out at.

General Smilas looked uncomfortable at this accusation and seemed to struggle with himself before finally reaching a decision. He took a deep breath and exhaled slowly before he confessed. "Because the council of Forty intended from the very start to send you into the jaws of death. They actually did want to send you to Africa to support the Africans!" He held up another hand to prevent Leila from interrupting him to tell him he lied to her and to question how many times he had done so before!

All thoughts of raising these issues regardless, were quashed, when general Smilas cut through her anger with a single sentence. "You were however the only designated unit to go to Africa." it brought Leila's brain to a screeching halt and left her slightly numb as it tried to reboot. "Do you understand what I'm telling you!" He emphasized driving the point home.

She did. It was a suicide mission and she understood it instinctively but she was shocked into silence so much; that general Smilas assumed she didn't.

"You were going to be ordered to attack the enemy from behind, to damage his supply lines. A tactically sound plan with great strategic importance, if it worked. But you yourself would be stranded in the desert without back up or logistical support!"

What no logistics?… but that wouldn't even be a suicide mission but an execution order framed as a mission! She couldn't accept it, there had to be some kind of mistake!

"What but why couldn't I just link up with the Africans in secret! If the EU wanted to avoid direct involvement in the war?" The W-0 unit was trained for covert ops and could escape and regroup with the Africans unseen if needed. Why would they be denied supplies and a retreat route?

General Smilas scoffed at that "The African government has too many corrupt officials. Undoubtedly word would get back to Britannia and they would have a pretext for war or an excuse to wring concessions from us."

Leila's mind flashed for a moment to the hover panel design the Arabs had made that Britannia was still trying to get without instigating a war. She wasn't sure how it would play out but she was sure any kind of concession could have long-lasting consequences. That hover panel alone could decide the fate of Africa.

However, she couldn't calm herself to think it through nor could she find another excuse or way to survive the veritable death sentence her orders apparently would have been. "Are you telling me I was nearly sent to die in the desert already!"

General Smilas shook his head and confidently said, "No I believe you could have made it out. But I didn't want to take the chance. So I lobbied that you were better utilized in trying to uncover Lelouch's schemes."

Leila scoffed at that "So I didn't even get to choose between dying anonymously on a politician's whim and being a prostitute huh?" To say she was disillusioned with her government was a bit of an understatement.

General Smilas sighed again as he took on the demeanor of a long-suffering parent trying to get a lesson through to their child "Leila as I told you before, you need to look at things from other people's perspective. A politicians needs to juggle the demands of his constituents and from his point of view soldiers exist solely to provide for the demand of safety. He accepts that they are prepared to die for their country and acts on that assumption. If we look back into history, we will find many atrocious decisions that would never be accepted in our modern peace-loving society. But the realities of the world don't change merely because we sugar coat them."

Leila instantly remembered the brawler type general from her academy days. A general who won a battle despite suffering more casualties than the loser. Someone who sacrificed numerous lives to offset the advantage the opposing general had tactically or technologically. It was despicable, but there was no denying the tactic worked.

She could accept that. Heck, she herself had proposed a tactic along those lines with her W-0 unit. No the fact that the W-0 unit was being singled out for being foreigners enraged her. So much for the EU's vaunted slogans of equality and liberty!

She said as much in a tightly controlled voice. "That doesn't change the fact they were planning to send us on a suicide mission because we were _politically _more acceptable as casualties than a European outfit."

General Smilas calmly stared back at her without flinching. "True but the harsh reality that the refugees have no voting rights or are even really considered citizens of the EU doesn't change. " general Smilas argued back "The politicians saw the potential for great gain with but a minimal loss. So naturally, they took it. They were only dissuaded when I presented them with a bigger gain without a loss."

Leila's left eye twitched "So they are planning to send me off to die, if I fail to bed Lelouch then?" She felt nothing but pure contempt for the defense council of Forty and tried to ignore the shudders of revulsion crawling over her body. She had known she was on a seduction mission beforehand off course. But now she knew, it was done with a gun to her head!

General Smilas hastily shook his head and raised his hands. His palms were spread wide open in the universal gesture of surrender and trying to calm someone down. "Nothing so crass luckily, they accepted failure as a very real possibility but they had other ends in view. If you managed to establish close bonds of friendship with Lelouch, it would already be considered a win. They fear that man as much as they love him. Because he might deliver another bloodless victory to them. If they just let him be."

Leila felt heartfelt relief that at least she wasn't forced to become a prostitute and focused on the last statement to keep her mind off it. "Like he did in Africa, they know he was behind it and the EU won that conflict by proxy without even getting their hands dirty."

General Smilas eagerly welcomed the change in subject. "Better than that even, they didn't have to spend a single penny of taxpayer money and he delivered all the credit to them by proxy. The Berbers may now be touted in the news as champions of justice or whatever. But the tag-on sentence claiming they were supposedly supplied by covert EU agents is doing wonders for their approval ratings. And when Britannia complains, they can just claim them to be baseless rumors."

Leila was impressed but frowned nonetheless. "If they love him so much, why don't they give him control of their armies and let him defeat the Britannian empire for them?"

General Smilas smiled at her "Ah that is the salient point, it is because they fear he might ascend in popularity too much and proclaim himself emperor. If he gained control over the army. Great historical figures have done something similar before, most notably was Napoleon when he led the revolution and founded our union."

Leila blurted out "Didn't they execute Napoleon after the revolution because they feared his reign as emperor would turn into a dictatorship?"

General Smilas smiled in agreement "And that is the heart of the matter. They think he is another Napoleon reborn. They will let him win their battles for them, but they won't let him take credit or too much control. Less he usurps their power completely and destroys our democracy!"

Leila laughed at that "They need him to save our democracy and at the same time they fear he will destroy it!"

General Smilas chuckled with her "I see the irony of the situation isn't lost upon you. But nevertheless I believe it was a mistake to execute Napoleon because the decadence of democracy has reached a point where governing this country has become nearly impossible in wartime. I believe that even in peace this union would collapse eventually, with the delaying of fiscal responsibilities because tax hikes are unpopular while increasing government spending is."

Seeing Leila's puzzled face he continued, "We may be the strongest economically of the three superpowers but that doesn't mean we aren't up to our eyeballs in debt. China is a cesspool of poverty and Britannia is just recovering from an economic crisis, so our competition isn't that formidable.

Right now national bonds are still selling at a low-interest rate but once the war begins in earnest those interests rates will skyrocket and our debt payments will become a larger burden than we can carry."

Leila cursed inwardly again at feeling out of her depth. She was going to brush up on economics the first chance she got. But she knew that during war every participant increased its national debt substantially. It was one of the reasons that inevitably forced a conclusion to a war. So Leila took a wild guess "Shouldn't Britannia be in a similar situation then?"

General Smilas sighed, "That is one advantage of the aristocracy inside the Britannian Empire. The nobles hold the national bonds so the emperor only has to convince a few that everything is going smoothly and that there is nothing to worry about. And the nobles wouldn't dare risk offending the emperor by selling his bonds at a bargain to recoup their money. They would rather take a loss monetarily than prestige wise."

"The age-old wisdom that it's easier to cause a mob to descend into panic than individuals huh?"

General Smilas sneered for the first time in Leila's presence "Yes mob mentality has taken hold of our fair democracy, and we need a strong shepherd to guide our wayward sheep."

"You sound like you're in favor of Lelouch becoming emperor?" questioned Leila fully aware she was asking the man if he was a traitor to her country. Well maybe that was exaggerating a bit, so long as he didn't act on it. She was content to keep her mouth shut.

General Smilas leaned back and closed his eyes for a moment before replying "Hmm I'm not entirely sure yet. Lelouch may well be what Europe needs to survive. But I'm not yet comfortable with entrusting him with the reigns just yet. It is why I lobbied to have you infiltrate his inner circle in the second place."

Leila raised an eyebrow "The second place? Isn't the normal turn of phrase in the first place?"

"It is but that was reserved for saving you from dying of thirst. Just because, I was aiming to save your life doesn't mean I can't strike two flies with one stone Leila. "Said general Smilas with a small smile "Your plan for the W-O unit was inspired but many high-ranking people tend to try to accomplish multiple goals at once. Never underestimate them and try to see the entire playing field."

Leila frowned at that "I think I prefer the honesty of an enemy soldier trying to pump me full of hot lead over that kind of flexible thinking."

The general chuckled "You can call us twofaced if you like but it won't change anything. In fact, it is quite common for many talented officers to prefer their field job over a desk job. But that also means that all those who don't mind duplicity and playing the long game end up in positions of power. The council of Forty is made up almost exclusively of people like that and some actually wouldn't know how to organize an actual army other than in theory."

Leila's frown only deepened "Putting an Emperor in their place won't wipe away the duplicity however. By all accounts, Lelouch knows how to be duplicitous better than anybody."

"Indeed but I never intended to end duplicity, for that is an exercise in futility. No, I merely want to remove those armchair generals who are detached from the realities of war. And remind the citizens that they need to take responsibility too and not just enjoy the benefits."

Leila wasn't that vehemently opposed to replacing those who would whore her out or callously send her off to die. So she played along with the scenario the general was painting. "I'll give you that, but even if you enthrone Lelouch and he rules justly and leads us to a prosperous future. What happens when he dies? Do we descend into chaos or go back to the old system waiting for another candidate to take his place?" prodded Leila at the obvious flaw in the plan.

"I certainly don't want a monarchy if that is what you're implying. No, I am fully aware of the ineptness of noble offspring who had everything given to them since birth. Lelouch is a different breed who had to fight for everything and survived despite that. But his children will no doubt be parasites, so I won't try to preserve a royal line. But neither will I condone an open loop-hole for another pretender to the throne to emerge so to speak. That will invite chaos and fraction our union back into squabbling factions laying the foundation for nationalism and another great European war."

"So democracy again, despite the flaws you claim it has then?" concluded Leila with a skeptical look. Not sure what the point was, if the vicious circle would just be repeated. It would be a temporary reprieve at best.

General Smilas chuckled at that "Yes, after all democracy is the worst form of government except for all the others that preceded it."

Leila raised an eyebrow "So you merely intend to right the ship under Lelouch's reign and put it back on course and hope for the best?"

"Sometimes hope, is the only thing a man can realistically hope for." general Smilas admitted forlornly

Leila grimaced at that. "That sounds rather grim, but I agree with you despite my inclinations. If what you say about the council of Forty is true, then it Is only a matter of time before the EU falls. But my loyalty is to the people of the EU, not its leaders. So I will do what I think is best for them." The very notion of loyalty to that council sickened her now but her original conviction was and always would be to help the European people.

General Smilas smiled broadly at her "I knew I found a kindred spirit in you when I discovered your disgust at the way things are run nowadays."

"I guess you did, even if I didn't know it yet at the time." chuckled Leila in agreement

General Smilas laughed with her good-naturedly and offered her a drink but she declined "I'm sorry general, but it is high time I pledge myself to our new master." She joked, finally coming to terms with having to seduce Lelouch. She had held some doubts that kept her back up until now. Especially the feeling that she was a prostitute restrained any advances she made. But now she knew; it was entirely up to her.

General Smilas laughed softly "Don't forget we still need to find out more about Lelouch before we will commit fully to supporting him, but for now enjoy the evening. You spend way too much time cooped up in the base training your men. You need to have some fun now and then, to release stress. So you don't get overworked at crucial moments."

Leila smiled at the kind advice "I'll take that into consideration general" She supposed she had gotten the advice she came into his office for. Just not the kind that she had been expecting.

"Very well you are dismissed commander Malcal and congratulations again on your promotion."

After an exchange of salutes, Leila left general Smilas's office to start her preparations for the play. But the fact that she had to tell all the men that served under her, that they were essentially sentenced to death wasn't far from her mind either; despite her attempts to ignore it for now.

* * *

**Ashford university, later that night**

**Lelouch **

Lelouch was struggling with putting on his costume. It would have been fine if it had been just some hastily made alterations to modern clothes but Milly hadn't settled for that. She had somehow obtained authentic costumes that put even his former noble acquaintances to shame in how flamboyant and impractical they were.

The thought of her teaming up with Clovis for the sake of art brought a chill down his spine. Visions of enormous extravagant pieces of avant-garde art flitted through his brain; especially a giant metal sculpture welded from scrap that looked like Nunnaly looking down on him with a gentle smile. Lelouch shook his head to clear it and focused on the financial nightmare that was Milly Ashford with his pin number and his card. The number of horrifying scenarios were staggering and luckily for him easily distracted him from the metal angel.

He finally managed to put his clothes on and was saved the embarrassment of having to ask someone to help him dress. Even as a child he had hated being dressed by the maids but at least that was because of tradition not incompetence.

He moved to his spot behind the curtain to stand ready to go on at a moment's notice. It was still five minutes before the show was scheduled to start, so he took a brief glimpse through the curtains to gaze at the audience. He didn't think he would have stage fright. He was already used to performing for a large audience. But he believed it was helpful to gauge the temperature of the audience in advance, so to speak.

He gazed out at them and looked for familiar faces, it wasn't long before he spotted the members of the student council. He didn't know them well. Because he was absent too often to build any real friendship with them. But he liked them well enough.

After a while though he found his target, miss Leila Malcal. He wasn't entirely sure how to deal with her but in the end had decided to go for the safe approach by introducing her to his alias. He didn't think he could convince her to give any real support anytime soon. Perhaps in the future when their fledgling romance grew into something more. But he was far too busy to let himself be distracted by _that_, even if it served his plan.

Well that was the plan he was going to follow; but the fact that she had shown up seemingly drunk put a damper on that. She was stumbling around, not enough to cause a scene but enough to make it obvious she was buzzed at least.

He wondered what had prompted her to drink but couldn't devote anymore attention to it as it was time for the show to go on.

* * *

**Asford university, gymnasium, back of the audience **

**Leila **

Leila suppressed a hiccup as best she could as she quietly enjoyed the play. Lelouch was quite the convincing actor and she was both relieved and disappointed when he kissed Juliet on the cheek. The groans throughout the audience informed her she wasn't the only one to feel that way.

She tried to pay attention but her drunken haze made it impossible to focus. It just seemed to go on forever and was over all too soon, all at the same time.

She remained seated as the other guests poured out of the gymnasium after a thunderous applause. She then watched Lelouch handle his many well wishers with practiced ease. He held five different conversations at once and gave all of them a piece of his attention to make them feel heard and possibly special.

She wouldn't have been able to distinguish so many people talking all at once, and would have just ordered them to speak one at a time. She supposed it was an acquired skill that she had no intention of ever learning.

It was undoubtedly a sign of an accomplished politician and after today's lecture the very thought of becoming one revolted her.

Luckily she didn't have to dwell long on her thoughts because Lelouch excused himself and approached her. It was time for her to put on her most crucial act, she just hoped she could pull it off drunk. Even if she got drunk in the first place to sell it.

"Hey Leila how are you?" Lelouch opened neutrally, despite worry creasing his face.

Leila weighed her options, she could just deny and have him drag it out of her but he might be too gentle and hesitant for her to explain it all. Once she committed to that course she couldn't look overly willing to share, less it look suspicious. It was a high risk strategy but if it worked it would look highly convincing.

"Not too bad, just had some really bad news today." She compromised a bit by fudging the truth and laying out her bait.

Luckily he took it "Oh what happened, did you get orders to deploy somewhere?" He asked in concern.

She guessed he thought she was devastated because she was going to be stationed in Russia or something, and wouldn't ever be able to see him again. A reasonable assumption, if a bit arrogant but it served her purposes.

She scoffed "I'd wish!" She laid it on a bit thick but it wasn't hard to portray the necessary betrayal, it was still real and raw after all.

Lelouch looked puzzled and unsure on how to continue but she couldn't offer anymore information for free.

He hesitantly asked "Did you get sent to the African front?"

She could see the horror in his eyes. Apparently he knew there were no deployments scheduled to go to Africa. Meaning that if that was the case, she was being sent on a suicide mission. Apparently he saw what she had been too blind to see. When she demanded to go to Africa.

She slouched her head in defeat as she quietly admitted "I almost was, though the alternative isn't much better."

Despite that statement he seemed somewhat relieved "So what happened did they discharge you with dishonor?"

"In a way I guess? I've been given autonomous control over my unit. I can freely engage in military activities as I see fit, provided I don't attack the EU. It even comes with a promise of a conditional pardon, so I can return home when the war is over." She replied with a self-deprecating chuckle " But that doesn't change the fact I'm being cast out in the cold as a sacrificial piece." She said bitterly as she let her body sag against him. But despite her now awkward position in which she couldn't see his face clearly. She didn't miss the small grin that flashed on his face for a second and wondered what that was about.

"So they're going to disavow any association with you and allow you to harass Britannia as a rogue unit, a _terrorist _in essence." summarized Lelouch with righteous indignation staining every word on her behalf.

Leila smiled slightly at the set-up and nodded feebly to encourage him "In a nutshell, there will be a special broadcast soon enough about how refugees from the former country of Japan took over a military unit and defected with the equipment." confirmed Leila though said broadcast would only have minor exposure, just enough to say they did actually disavow the W-0 unit.

Lelouch seemed calm as he asked "I see; how did your men take it?" but in Leila's mind he was practically salivating. Clearly his eagerness to control the W-0 unit overcame his caution enough to stop him from wondering why she was telling him classified information. Well that was why she got drunk to begin with; so maybe he had and found it a sufficient reason.

She decided to wiggle her bait a bit more "I just broke the news to them but they took it in stride. They were already fully prepared to die for their families. So long as the EU upholds their deal to look after them they don't care where they die."

Lelouch bit into her bait without hesitation as his deep baritone reverberated through her and echoed in the small hallway they were standing in. "Do you really think they are fine with breathing their last on some godforsaken wasteland a thousand miles from home?"

The accusation struck a nerve with her despite it not being her fault "I guess not, but what else can I do? Our fate has already been decided for us!" She bitterly retorted, giving him the opening he needed to proposition her. If he wasn't going to ask her to join him now then it might as well be never.

"Even so, your path is not yet set in stone, you can forge one of your own. If we are to die then at least let it not be in vain. Let your men find peace in the knowledge that they will be fighting to reclaim their homeland!"

She let a small half-smile spread over her face and not just because of him taking the bait. She genuinely liked the thought of having her men die for something they truly believed in. It was at least better than being thrown away like broken toys by spoilt brats.

Lelouch returned her smile gently and gazed reassuringly into her eyes.

"You want to liberate Japan?" asked Leila hesitantly. This was the first real morsel of information she had discovered thus far. She absolutely could not spook him now. she had to be non confrontational to drag more information out of him.

"Not just Japan, but it is the lynchpin that will turn the tide in this war. We will start there and build a better world for all of us who were casually discarded by callous rulers!" He reached out his hand to her, silently urging her to take it

Her eyes darted back left and right a bit in a show of hesitancy before they settled on his own violet orbs. She gazed into them for a while as if searching for confirmation that he was being genuine. She then smiled hesitantly at him and firmly clasped his hand before breaking out into a more radiant one.

And why wouldn't she! Lelouch had just offered her a place in his inner circle and told her his plans. Her position was still precarious with only her control over the W-0 unit and her 'dating' status keeping her alive. But in time she could prove her worth as an able commander or deepen the feelings Lelouch had for her. Cause as it stood; she had no delusions that Lelouch wouldn't hesitate to cut her out, permanently.

Now she just had to figure out how to break the news to the Malcal family. She was somewhat surprised that she hadn't gotten an angry phone call already. She was after all breaking her engagement promise to Johann. 'Oh well the things one sacrifices in name of their country' she thought with a smirk.

Her thoughts were broken though when Lelouch leaned in to whisper into her ear "By the way my full name is Lelouch VI Britannia, but I suppose you already knew that."

* * *

**Author notes **

I know presidential pardons do not work for crimes not yet committed. So the promise of a pardon is really flimsy and is only a dangling carrot meant to convince Leila there is still hope.

Next up geass, Japan and the return of Suzaku.


	13. Be careful what you geass for

**Arc four Japan strikes back**

**Chapter Thirteen: Be careful what you geass for.**

**Unknown ****"****If they are shooting at you. Then you know you****'****re doing something right.****"**

Lelouch waited patiently for his operation to begin within the bowels of Japan's subway system. He didn't need to concern himself with the last-minute preparations, those were better left to Leila. These were her men and they followed her first and foremost. It would only create resentment, if he suddenly started bossing them around

The W-0 unit had actually laughed at the thought of performing sabotage operations in Japan of all places; but their gallows humor could only blunt the edge. The sting of betrayal was still raw for many of them, and some would snap at him if he suddenly tried to outrank Leila. The only one they actually trusted, right after being shipped to Japan. He could blame the EU all he wanted. But they would still blame him for their fates. A few off course were happy to be back, but they were a minority. So he would only show his face occasionally with much-needed supplies and plans to help them out. It would buy their gratitude and eventually when they found out who he was. They would willingly accept his leadership; at least he hoped so.

He wasn't planning to replace Leila, despite her ties to the EU. Since she would be the one tying the unit together and to him. But in time he would tie their loyalty directly to him. After all he wasn't blind to the loyalty within the hierarchy problem. Right now the W-0 unit would obey Leila over him, leaving him vulnerable to her whims. So even if Leila was _loyal_, it still undermined his authority.

He ran his hand through his hair and leaned back against the concrete wall. The cold wall soothed Lelouch as he thought over his current situation. He had the capacity to produce twenty knightmare frames a month back in Europe. But he was reduced to stealing them like a common beggar here in hostile territory. The supply train he was planning to rob wasn't guarded or even all that secret but the getaway was going to be difficult.

Twenty trucks loaded down with five ton each, squealing down the highway wasn't exactly hard to spot. Even after splitting up they would have a hard time blending in.

He didn't relish the thought of going up against the Britannian military even if the garrison was inferior to their front line forces. His men didn't trust him and wouldn't follow his orders without question; leading to confusion and unnecessary deaths.

He preferred to avoid those…

He didn't need some idiot back talking to him during a crucial OP in the future cause he got his buddy killed today.

Phut phut phut bash clank phut phut clank phut phut phut bash clank phut phut gulla gulla gluglugluglug

He was startled from his thoughts when he heard a vehicle rampaging through the tunnels Whoever this guy was, he obviously didn't care about anything but pure speed. Despite hardly seeing where he was going and the uneven road. By the sound of it, he already had a broken axle and the idiot was still revving it.

He didn't particularly like what that implied. But he couldn't ask Leila for an update on the situation aboveground. They all had strict orders not to deviate from the plan and lay low until the scheduled time. If he broke radio silence he might give away their position to whomever was chasing that truck.

A rookie mistake that almost got them all killed wasn't a good start to earning his men's trust. He could finally make out the head lights of the truck now that it had rounded the long slanted corner and it still wasn't slowing down. He got up and grabbed his motorcycle to try to outrun it. There wasn't enough room in this tunnel to guarantee it wouldn't hit him as it passed.

Just as he started to rev his engine and leave, he heard the truck finally crash behind him. He slowed down and made a half turn to look back at the truck.

He waited a minute but no one seemed in pursuit; meaning it had lost its tail in its reckless escape. Intrigued Lelouch decided to take the risk to investigate the truck.

He cautiously approached the truck on his motorcycle; ready to turn around and run for it at a moment's notice. His caution seemed unwarranted when he saw through the cabin window that the driver was knocked out for the moment and there didn't seem to be anyone else inside.

He pulled his gun from his holster nonetheless, just in case. He spotted a ladder bolted to the side of the truck. Lelouch scrambled up the ladder to peek inside so he didn't have to expose his whole body to gunfire. His ascent was noisier than he would have liked. So he took a moment to listen for any movements. Once he was on top of the truck.

There still wasn't any sound, no rustling of clothes, padding footsteps or exhaled breath. None that he could hear at least. He decided it was safe enough to risk a peek.

His head bobbed up and he drank in all he could before ducking down again. Lelouch narrowed his eyes, for some reason the inside seemed to be empty, except for a strange container. Now that he was reasonably certain there wasn't somebody still conscious down there. He decided to take a closer look. Lelouch jumped downwards and landed awkwardly. The impact was more than he had expected and he had nearly fallen on his face in an attempt to cushion the blow somewhat for his knees.

Once he got up, he took a closer look at the container. By the looks of It, it seemed to be airtight but its purpose was still unclear. Perhaps poison gas but the container didn't look like any delivery mechanism he had ever heard off.

Well to be fair, he hadn't given that aspect of warfare more than a cursory glance. Poison gas was nearly useless on knightmares despite the fact that they weren't airtight for the simply reason that you had to use a ridiculous amount of poison gas to prevent them from simply outrunning it.

It was more likely to cause civilian casualties in modern warfare, with poison masks being standard Britannian issue for foot soldiers. He would prefer blanketing an area with flammable gas over poison gas, at least that had some use.

He was viciously kicked out of his musings by some unknown soldier that had gotten the drop on him. Lelouch landed on his back harshly. He looked up at his assailant and saw a soldier in Britannian gear. But he couldn't be certain, perhaps it was an undercover agent. "Are you Britannian?" He asked for confirmation

The soldier didn't answer him. Instead he reached down and grabbed his throat choking off his airway and then started lecturing him "That's enough mindless murder!"

Lelouch instantly put the pieces together and knew that the guy thought he was a part of the organization that owned that weird contraption. He had to deny it before it was too late "Wait I'm not one of them!" Lelouch had no intention of being arrested and executed for something he didn't even do. That would just be embarrassing.

The soldier didn't believe him "Planning to use poison gas? don't play dumb with me!"

Lelouch managed a wild kick to drive the soldier off of him. He took the lull in the fighting to explain himself. "I'm not here by choice!" it was a lie but a necessary one "If that is poison gas! then it was made in Britannia wasn't it?" He wasn't sure but the terrorists didn't have the capability or inclination to use poison gas; so that only left Britannia as a viable suspect.

He continued his rant to convince the soldier as he stepped forward to add power to his speech and ignored the soldier's gasp "Mindless murder, if you truly believe that then you should obliterate Britannia!"

Whatever reply he had been expecting though hadn't been for the soldier to take his helmet off and reveal his face. "Lelouch, it's me Suzaku," it took a second for the realization to sink in, but once it did.

"I'll kill you!" screamed Lelouch as he hurled his fist towards Suzaku's face. Suzaku was so surprised, he didn't even bother to dodge and took the punch right in the face. He stumbled back a few steps on instinct to prevent himself from falling over. Lelouch was a scrawny guy. But he knew the mechanics of a good punch.

Suzaku barely paid any attention to his new bruise. Instead he was entirely focused on the enraged visage of his best friend "Lelouch!…What is wrong with you?" He asked in confusion

Lelouch actually chuckled darkly at that "It figures that you don't even know what you did to my sister."

Suzaku's face scrunched up in confusion. "What are you talking about, I know you got away safely. I followed the tracks after I regained consciousness,….Lelouch I saw the bodies." a pained grimace came over Suzaku's face as he remembered. With a saddened look he said "You didn't have to kill them, you could have simply subdued them. " He accused Lelouch.

As if he was in the wrong? As if defending his sister was immoral? As if the criminals had more rights than the victim? The very thought sickened him!

Lelouch snarled at him "You dare preach to me about restraint Suzaku. You heard Natsume! He wanted to kill my sister for no other reason than the fact that she was deadweight. I was outnumbered and just a kid against adults and you actually expect me to go easy on them." He asked in disbelief.

Suzaku looked taken aback momentarily but was searching for an answer

"…"

When he didn't get an immediate retort "Damn you and your blasted moral code to hell Suzaku! They put my sister into a coma from which she may never recover. If I could kill them again, I would! Only I would take my time to enjoy it this time." said Lelouch venomously, meaning every word of it.

Suzaku slightly bowed his head in disappointment "I can't believe you would turn into such a monster Lelouch."

Lelouch was enraged to see him so casually gloss over the fact that Nunnaly was in a coma!

Suzuku looked at him with disappointed eyes. "To think you became a terrorist when…"

Lelouch cut him off "Don't you dare change the subject to spout more of your selfish ideology. I told you those Japanese would mean us harm! But you wouldn't listen. You gambled our lives away because of your stupid honor and belief that everyone would do the right thing if given the chance!" He trusted his finger at him and then flung it to the side to emphasize his point.

Suzaku shook his head and denied the accusation "They didn't really want to kill Nunnaly. They just wanted her wheel chair to carry around those supplies. If we could have just talked things through; then nobody would have been harmed." said Suzaku with conviction dripping off of every word.

"…"

Lelouch was stunned. For a moment he just gaped at his former best friend. "Suzaku your naivety astounds me to new heights every time I talk to you." Lelouch rubbed his forehead incredulously "How long do you think we could have survived without those supplies. We couldn't hunt and going into the city was a death sentence. If we ran into more xenophobic Japanese!" Lelouch had actually found isolated reports of lynched britannians. So he knew he wasn't over exaggerating "Though I doubt we could have found food in the city anyway, with all the other hungry refugees already squirreling away all the food." He paused for a second " The choice they gave us was die or starve to death!"

"So you just decided to kill them rather than even try to compromise with them" retorted Suzaku, seemingly affronted by the idea that killing them seemed to be Lelouch's first and only option.

"Are you even listening to me, you idiot! No wonder you decided to join the Britannian military." mocked Lelouch

But Suzaku didn't seem fazed by the insult instead he just got that familiar determined glint in his eyes. "If you are implying that I think they can be changed from the inside then yes I do. We can change Britannia for the better from the inside! Like you once did, when you set in motion that economic crisis. " He pointed his index finger at Lelouch "You made them realize that war and oppression weren't the only ways to prosperity, that they in fact only reduced it!"

Lelouch just glared at his stupidity and his willfulness to interpret things to fit his idealized vision of the world. "You idiot, that was my opening salvo in my war on Britannia, just because no one died or drew a gun doesn't mean people didn't suffer from it." He knew without a doubt, he had made thousands of people homeless and indirectly caused millions of people suffering or even death. None of it was planned by him but it was caused by his plans nonetheless. And he had been aware what would happen in abstract terms; so he couldn't even absolve himself through ignorance.

Suzaku however seemed completely ignorant of the consequences and just imagined a fairy tale ending. "That may be so, but some hardship is better than throwing away your life in a meaningless struggle."

Meaningless… He dared call the right of freedom meaningless! Something humankind has been struggling to obtain for centuries. Did he prefer to be a chained dog begging for scraps at his master's feet?

"Would you willingly let Britannia enslave the whole world merely to satisfy your criteria of peace?" asked Lelouch scathingly

Whatever Suzaku was about to say was interrupted when the supposedly poison gas container suddenly opened up. Suzaku immediately jumped on top of Lelouch to press his poison mask onto his face despite the earlier hostilities.

The hissing noise of the escaping gas died down and slowly the gas cloud dispersed enough to allow Lelouch to see through it. But surprisingly Suzaku didn't seem to suffer any ill effects, much to Lelouch's disappointment. He ignored the grown man on top of him for the moment; and peered through the cloud and spotted a green haired girl in a straight jacket inside of the container.

Suzaku however, just stared at the girl and remained on top of him. "Get off of me, you idiot! Can't you see it clearly isn't poison gas."

The girl had clearly looked at him imploringly before passing out; meaning she was still alive. Simple logic dictated that she couldn't be, unless it wasn't poison gas.

"What, but….In the briefing they said..." He trailed off.

"What a surprise Britannia lied to you. Get used to it Suzaku!" Lelouch ignored him for now and started untying the girl. He couldn't ignore how she looked at him, it was almost as if she was calling out to him silently.

"That's what they said in the briefing." Defended Suzaku though he probably knew himself how lame it sounded.

Lelouch didn't even deign that with a response and just continued untying the girl. He wasn't sure who she was. But if he wanted to carry her out of here on his motorcycle, it would be easier if she was awake and free.

He wanted to kill Suzaku as well but a thousand lost kendo matches and zero victories told him he couldn't overpower him. He only got that free punch in because Suzaku let him. Without his gun he was powerless against him, and he doubted Suzaku would let him reach for it.

He still eyed it though from the corner of his eye, it was lying on the floor where he dropped it after Suzaku kicked him. He also noticed a jacket lying on the floor with a hand-held radio in it. He might be able to call in some help as well. If he managed to hold a private conversation under Suzaku's watchful eye. After eye rolling at how stupid that sounded, he discarded that slim possibility and refocused on how to grab the gun.

Then suddenly some vehicle's headlights turned on and lit up the entire tunnel in perfect clarity. He squinted his eyes to see the men standing in front of the lights.

"Stinking monkey, being an honorary Britannian will not excuse you." echoed a voice through the tunnel.

Suzaku ran up to his apparent superior "But sir, I was told this was poison gas?"

"How dare you question your orders!" The man spat at him impatiently

Was the girl a terrorist, who her comrades were trying to get back? Or was she a high value hostage? Perhaps the daughter of a high-ranking European politician or noble? Was this a blackmail attempt gone wrong and the rescuers were being labeled terrorists? To wave off a follow-up investigation and outright sell lies during a briefing took some serious clout; unless these guys only pretended to be soldiers. No, Suzaku was among them, so they were legitimate. The question was really how corrupt and who pulled their strings? And why the hell was she in that container thing!

"However in light of your outstanding military achievements, I'm going to be lenient." He reached into his holster and pulled out a pistol and presented it to Suzaku "Private Kururugi take this and execute the terrorist."

Lelouch instantly started re-evaluating his surroundings, looking for an escape route.

While Suzaku looked conflicted and looked at the gun as if it was repulsive to the touch. He tried to convince them not to "But…He is not a terrorist. He's a…Civilian….Who just …Got caught up in all this" He didn't sound terribly convincing.

Lelouch wondered if Prime minister Kururugi never gave him any acting lessons to lie more convincingly. Or if his damnable moral code wouldn't even allow him to lie, to save someone else's life. It was an interesting contradiction but he didn't want to explore Suzaku's mind to find out the answer. Besides it was rather Kantian and he hated Kant.

"You insubordinate little…Didn't you swear your loyalty and your life to Britannia." pressed his superior, using Suzaku's own moronic honor code to drive him into a corner.

"Yes but….. But... I can't." Suzaku proudly proclaimed in the end with a gentle smile on his face.

"What!" exclaimed his enraged superior

"I won't do it sir. I won't shoot a civilian." Suzaku turned back and looked with gentle eyes back on Lelouch "I'm sorry sir. But I can't follow your orders" He said quietly with resolve.

Lelouch wondered if Suzaku had a selective mind. He ignored Nunnaly's coma and his declaration that he was going to kill him. But he was still trying to help him! Some would applaud him for his ability to turn the other cheek. Lelouch just wanted to call him an idiot while he slugged the other cheek to compliment the other one.

"Very well." Before Suzaku could react, his superior shot him in-between the gaps in his body armor.

Lelouch's eyes widened in shock as he watched Suzaku drop lifelessly to the ground. He didn't mind him dying. But he did care very much that the only way out of here alive just got executed.

"Well schoolboy not a good day to cut class." The superior continued calmly despite the corpse at his feet.

Lelouch wasn't wearing a school uniform but his age and Britannian looks must have led to him to deducing he was still a student. But this observation did Lelouch no favors.

The Britannian superior seemed annoyed by his lack of a response. "Collect the girl, after that kill the student!"

Lelouch heard his death sentence for the second time in his life and once more felt completely helpless. He wanted to rage at the world at the unfairness of it all, to somehow change it. He wished he could reorder the world to his own liking where no one had to suffer.

They pulled the girl up from the ground in front of him who seemed to be awake now, if still in a daze.

"Well then, any last words schoolboy." asked the superior mockingly

Lelouh strained his brain for anything appropriate, but all he came up with was "You bastards!"

"Eloquently put, I really see my taxes are being spent wisely. Maybe I should tell prince Clovis to improve the educational standard. But unfortunately for you. You have no future. So you won't be able to enjoy it." Mocked the now revealed royal guard for only they had any authority to talk to Clovis as an equal in area eleven.

The girl broke free of her captor and jumped in front of Lelouch just as the royal guard captain squeezed the trigger. His shot landed squarely into her forehead and she dropped lifelessly to the ground.

Like Suzaku….

This drove his helplessness home even more, the person he tried to save. Saved him instead because he was too weak to change anything. He ignored the captain practicing his excuse for his superiors. He just stared dispassionately at the green haired girl.

He was surprised when the girl suddenly grabbed his arm, proving she was still alive, despite a bullet being lodged into her brain. He suddenly heard a voice coming from inside his head "You don't want it to end here, do you?"

"What!" He stared out at the incomprehensible hallucinations he seemed to be having.

"You appear to have a reason for living." the girl continued onward ignoring his confusion.

Lelouch had trouble accepting this girl could even talk, let alone cause all this. "This girl, that's impossible." He stammered out in denial.

"If I granted you power, could you go on?"

Power…

"I propose a deal, in exchange for this power you must agree to make my one wish come true. Accept this contract and you accept its conditions. While living in the world of humans you will live unlike any other. A different providence, a different time, a different life. The power of the king will condemn you to a life of solitude."

" ….Are you prepared for this?"

Lelouch was hesitant until amidst all the visions. He saw one of his father which reminded him of his drive, his motivations, his reason for living. If he could accomplish that with this power. Then he was prepared to pay any price!

"Yes I hereby accept the terms of your contract!" He said resolutely and immediately felt something clicking into place.

As suddenly as it began it was over and he was back inside the tunnel facing his firing squad. The situation may have seemed just as hopeless as before to an outside observer, but Lelouch somehow knew; he now held all the cards.

He decided to play with them a bit, to return the favor of their earlier taunting. "Say how should a Britannian who hates his own country live his life?"

"What are you some kind of radical?"

Lelouch smirked slightly, as he was about to deliver the next line of his little impromptu speech. Before he forced them to commit suicide. But when he glanced at the green haired girl as he stood up. It brought back the question: 'Why were they so intent on killing him just to cover up all the knowledge about this girl?' He thought he now had an inkling to the truth. But he wanted all of it.

"I Lelouch vi Britannia command you, tell me everything I want to know about this girl and why you had to silence me." He said dramatically while revealing his left eye and sweeping his arm to the side.

They saluted him "Yes my lord," They answered in unison and continued to speak in harmony with each other "She is part of a top-secret medical research program sponsored by prince Clovis and prince Schneizel. We do not know what exactly went on. But we assumed she was a test subject on whom they tested their experimental medicine on. News of these inhumane experiments would undoubtedly cause an uproar back home and ruin any chances the princes would have, to ever ascend to the throne, which was why all witnesses must be shot."

Lelouch had expected that much, but the revelation that Schneizel was involved came as a shock. He had honestly thought his brother was more humane than that. Apparently his older brother was crueler than he had ever thought possible.

"Who else is involved?" demanded Lelouch intending to put a permanent end to it as soon as possible.

The royal guards gave out a long list of names of which he only recognized one, general Bartley Asprius. Widely assumed to be Clovis's toady and a worthless parasite, but apparently he had some use in medical research and covert ops. He carefully listened to the rest of the list and catalogued them for later investigation.

Once they were finished he decided to be done with them " Very well that was all I needed to know. Now, all of you die!" He commanded with relish.

He expected them to follow his command without question like the other two but the men just looked about confused. "I said kill yourself!" He tried again flaring his new power at them.

The men regained their focus with that outburst "It seems our schoolboy is having a temper tantrum." said the superior who seemed to be the first to recover while his men still struggled to regain their bearings.

That taunt nearly gave Lelouch a heart attack as he realized his geass power didn't work on them! Did this mean he could use it only once in his life or was it just per person? He hoped it was the latter at least. No wait he had given two, so was it only twice or was it because they were similar. It didn't make any sense to him and with his heart beating so loud, he could practically hear it. He wasn't going to unravel it in time.

But even if he did, he was still screwed! He carelessly threw away the first use and perhaps second use, leaving him powerless now that they were immune.

He should have just told them to obey his every command, but woulda shoulda coulda wasn't going to get him out of this mess.

He chuckled inwardly at the thought that at least he was going to die; due to his own foolishness and not someone else's whim.

_It was oddly liberating_

* * *

**Author notes**

If you like my story then you'll probably love house of cards. So please watch it on netflix and ensure I have many more seasons to watch.

**Another interesting quote: **

"To send men to the firing quad, judicial proof is unnecessary. These procedures are an archaic bourgeois detail." Che Guevara


	14. You said what! And wait she actually

**Chapter fourteen: You said what! And wait she actually****…**

"**Only cowards insult dying majesty****"**** Aesop**

As he was about to embrace his death, the truck cabin exploded and covered the entire area in thick black smoke. Lelouch was momentarily stunned by the fact that he was still alive, despite standing right next to it. Once he realized it had to be directed upwards and was more fireball than devastating shockwave. He relaxed and ran like hell.

He didn't bother taking the girl with him for the simple reason that she had to be dead. Not just because he saw her chest stop rising and falling but also because she had a bullet in her brain, which was a pretty strong indicator she was dead.

Well, even if she was alive. He doubted he could carry her to a hospital while being chased. It was a bit cowardly; but he couldn't afford such noble gestures right now. After all, just look at what happened to Suzaku! When he clung to them.

After running for a while he stopped to catch his breath, and to decide on his next course of action. He tried to ignore the world shattering turn of events and just focused on the practical part, his newfound power.

It didn't work when he tried to give a second different order. However, they did obey, when he gave one along the lines of the first. The 'Who else was involved.' referred to 'Who was involved with the girl'; which he ordered them to tell him everything about, that he 'W_anted _to know'.

This made his order conditional, it activated whenever he asked them a question dealing with either that girl or why he had to be silenced.

Okay that was somewhat useful to know in the future, but how could he exploit it now?

"…"

He slammed his hand into the wall in frustration. And immediately regretted it afterwards. He was absent-mindedly thankful that he hadn't hit it with his knuckles. While nursing the cushion in his palm, Lelouch wished he had a power to stop time. So he could just grab their guns and shoot them one by one…

"…"

Wait a minute, why not? He had noticed they went into a trance-like state while fulfilling his order and weren't aware of doing it once they came out of it.

This meant his order came before anything else and until that was finished they couldn't interrupt it. That meant if he could just ask them an open-ended question or questions to buy enough time. He could just grab their guns and shoot them.

A vicious smile crept back onto his face. It was exploiting a loophole and there wasn't a guarantee that seeing someone die in front of them wasn't going to break them out of their daze. But he had no other options. If he ran into them again…

But off course he had no intention to; it was just good to have a back up plan just in case.

With his mind made up and his breathing back under control, he resumed his path to the nearest exit. It wasn't long before he walked up a stair into an abandoned warehouse. Which made him wonder why the subway tunnels were connected to this place to begin with.

Was it built by a smuggling ring?

Gunfire distracted him from such musings, though the sounds of slaughtered innocents didn't help either. He looked towards the only exit and saw it was being guarded by half of the royal guardsmen from before.

He had faith in his theory about his new power but wasn't willing to risk his life on it. So he decided to wait until they left.

They did a quick search of the warehouse that nearly had him scurrying back into the tunnels before they gave up and just guarded the exit.

This posed a problem, it seemed they weren't intent on leaving anytime soon and were content to just block off all the exits. But for what purpose?

They were too few in number to block them all off and,…. Off course they had sent the others to flush him out through the tunnels. Either that or they had taken the girl's corpse back to Clovis.

Normally retrieval of bodies only took place after the conflict was over. But with the origin of this conflict being that girl to begin with. He didn't doubt that Clovis would want to verify her death with his own eyes.

He sighed as he felt trapped by the approaching sound of footsteps. He could hear them echoing through the tunnel. But there was already no place left to hide for him.

He waited calmly for them to find him, while mulling over the best question, to buy the largest amount of time to execute them.

Once he knew the ones behind him would be within hearing distance without a doubt. He loudly announced his question. "What are the political ramifications of killing me, seeing as I am a prince of the empire!"

The guards were startled by his sudden announcement. But they didn't fall into a trance, judging by their muttered variations of "Can't be?"

That meant he had to make the order more literal rather than the spirit of it. They were only bound to answer 'Why he had to be silenced, not the consequences of it'.

Then he would have to ask about the girl then. But he wasn't as sure, that his next question would lead to the same long-winded speech as the first.

He cleared his throat and yelled again. "Describe the times that girl has been in contact with royalty that you know off!"

Unexpectedly they started in reverse chronological order. The first one on their lips was describing him in great detail. So they either recognized him after he announced himself, or the geass power was absolute and transcended their own knowledge.

That needed further investigating but for now he needed to act fast. He raced down the stairs and followed the voices towards the closest guard he could hear.

It didn't take long for him to find them in tactical positions, spread out to cover all possible angles an assailant could take while entering the tunnel. But their tactical superiority was in vain, as he just marched right up to them and disarmed one of them.

They all didn't blink an eye, and just continued talking about how the smoke clouded their visibility. He then took a leap of faith that his power which was essentially a powerful hypnosis, wouldn't break, even by pain and fear of death.

He couldn't be sure if Clovis had ever personally overseen the medical experiments. Meaning he was running out of time! He quickly raised the gun to eye level and mercilessly shot the man in front of him.

Bang!

He was barely aware of a small feeling of elation at killing the man. Instead he was momentarily mesmerized by the blood gushing out of the huge hole in his back. Lelouch stood over him, his mouth wide open; amazed that a single slug could do so much damage. But he quickly regained himself and quashed what guilt he felt and moved on.

Luckily all the royal guardsmen were still chanting in sync, unbothered by their comrade's death. The sight of the zombies just standing there was a bit unnerving but Lelouch didn't let it get to him.

He had to move around a bit to get a clear shot for all of them, but they all died without incident. Even better was that the last one continued to speak of how Clovis would visit and express his displeasure at how little results were forthcoming.

He smiled as he heard the incriminating words. By the sound of it, it seemed Clovis visited that girl often, meaning he had plenty of time to execute the rest. He threw away his gun and looted another from the last one's corpse.

He made his way back up to the warehouse and noticed the guardsmen were all talking about different things, making it impossible to distinguish what they were talking about.

Apparently he had to take into consideration how fast people talked normally. The difference in cadence and diction eventually threw them out of sync. He made a mental note to see how geass affected groups when cast at once. If he still had geass that is. The fact that they still obeyed his first order was no indication that he could cast another geass.

He ran around the group shooting them from different angles, to give the appearance of a firefight. He didn't know why though. Perhaps a niggling doubt that someone might find it strange to see elite soldiers killed execution-style and investigate. Or perhaps the sheer joy he felt at finally overcoming physically superior opponents head to head. Well he had an unfair advantage, but for their entire life, so had they. It was similar to knocking over a chessboard to avoid losing, but he didn't care.

He executed all of them but one. So he could listen to the rest of the story.

"…"

"…"

His arm was getting tired after being forced to keep the gun up for so long. He couldn't drop his aim for even a moment though. These were all still professional soldiers and the sight of their comrades lying dead on the floor might trigger a flight or fight response. He didn't relish his chances in close quarters combat with a trained soldier, even with a gun advantage.

But what he could gather, was that this girl had suffered horrible medical experiments for years. It didn't take long for even him to get nauseated by the callous cruelty of his older brothers.

"Did prince Schneizel ever visit her?" He finally asked after getting tired of it. Not to mention that the sound of gunfire and explosions kept pressing on him. Another soldier could stumble upon him at any moment, and shoot first, ask questions later.

"No." came the simple answer in return

Hmm apparently he didn't want any paperwork or witnesses leading directly back to him. How typical of him. He noticed the guard's awareness coming back and immediately executed him before he could resist.

Lelouch sighed in relief, it was over for now. He padded himself in search of his cell phone. He had left his radio attached to his motorcycle and he didn't feel like going back for it. But he still had his cell phone and now that he was above ground, he finally had reception again. And he didn't have annoying royal guards gunning for his head. Having a polite conversation was exceedingly difficult, with bullets whizzing over his head or in this case at his head.

Lelouch used speed-dial and tuned out the distant explosions and gunfire. "Hey Leila give me a SITREP!"

Leila immediately responded back in the same no-nonsense manner "We spotted the Britannians coming in their VTOL. I ordered a tactical retreat as acting commander of this mission."

So she aborted huh. Well at least he didn't have to worry about his men needlessly dying in this bloodbath. "What is your current location?" asked Lelouch, giving no indication of approval or disapproval of her decision.

"We have relocated to Saitama ghetto. " She answered immediately before softening her tone in an apologetic manner "We tried sending someone in to warn you in the tunnels but they blocked them off with honorary britannians. We couldn't get in without risking a shootout with the military."

"Why didn't you try the radio?" asked Lelouch curiously with no hint of accusation in his voice.

"We wanted to, but the person in charge of radio frequencies forgot which one you were on." Leila admitted shamefully. Her voice was still crisp and clear but it faltered in places.

It was embarrassing but not terribly surprising, seeing everything went FUBAR within seconds. He had set up a large amount of designated radio frequencies. He was going to cycle through them depending on the time. With panic settling in, it was no wonder the un-blooded soldier had forgotten it under pressure.

Lelouch decided not to dwell on it "I ran into those honorary britannians you spoke off and exchanged fire with them. I'm now topside and looking for EXFIL." He kept quiet about the royal guard to speed things along.

"Do we need to give assistance?" asked Leila though he could tell she wasn't terribly pleased to order her men back into the war zone and their likely deaths.

Considering he hadn't cemented her loyalty yet. He took a risk "No I will EXFIL on my own, but set up just outside the encirclement in case I need back up."

He could hear the sigh of relief practically over the line before Leila responded "Will do, good luck Lelouch."

He hung up the phone and contemplated his situation. If he could just order a few soldiers to do his bidding, he could easily obtain an escort out of here.

The problem was gaining enough time to say his order, before they shot him. He ran through various variations and decided a simple 'Obey' was the shortest and fulfilled his needs nicely. But that was assuming he still had the power?

He didn't need to wait long to put it to the test when a knightmare frame ripped open the warehouse to look inside. He stared dispassionately at the knightmare as it ordered him to identify himself

The bloodbath at his feet mustn't have put the pilot in a good mood and only his Britannian heritage was staying her trigger finger at all. He was inwardly amused that for once his Britannian heritage was saving his life, rather than threatening it.

But when the pilot shot off some warning shots around him he decided to put childish games like a stare off behind him.

"Obey me and get out of that knightmare." He ordered casually, despite his nerves being frazzled by the near death experience and the likelihood of his power ending up as a dud.

"Who the hell do you think you are!" the pilot returned, seemingly insulted.

Lelouch wasn't surprised that it didn't work. He still felt lead sinking to the bottom of his stomach though.

But he soon got over it, with the faint hope that it probably only worked with direct eye contact. He had broken it after he gave the first order. So maybe it had to be done within a single session and direct eye contact was necessary.

He turned towards the knightmare and quickly invented a likely story to excuse his arrogance and tempt her to come out "My name is Alan Spacer my father is a duke."

The softly spoken 'nobility' from the pilot was still picked up by its internal microphone and broadcast over its speakers. Once he heard the surprised utterance of that word. He knew he had her.

"My ID card is in my breast pocket. After you confirm who I am, I will request your protection."

As expected the pilot came out, though she still kept her gun trained on him.

He felt a bit nervous as he tried his last 'all or nothing' attempt. But hopefully, even if it failed he could cover by blaming it on the arrogance of the nobility. However, backing up his story was impossible and getting away a slim possibility. He would have to ask Leila to bail him out after all. He'd already been lucky enough to drop his gun before the knightmare had shown up or he'd have been red paste. So he doubted Lady Luck was still with him.

He stiffened his upper lip though, and obeyed her demand to keep his hands where she could see them. it didn't matter after all. She was already within range ofthe only weapon that could get him out of here alive. And she just didn't realize it. That is, if it still worked.

Well no time like the present…

"Obey my every command." He ordered as soon as he could look her directly into the eyes.

Viletta momentarily froze up before "Understood my lord." the monotonous reply caressed his ears.

Lelouch felt heartfelt relief that it had worked. He already had been having vivid daydreams of the kind of prison he would he sent to. After they found out who he really was. Would it be maximum security since he crippled the country or low security to provide the creature comforts a prince deserved. Would revenge or pride and a sense of self preservation win?

He took a deep breath to steady himself and wiped his brow. He straightened back up and noticed that the female pilot was still standing ramrod straight at attention.

Hmm odd…

Did his geass overwrite all other natural commands the brain gave? If it did, then it would leave her as a blank useless shell.

He decided to investigate "Start massaging your chest." Lelouch had to suppress the deep urge to look away embarrassed, after saying that. But he didn't have time to be blushing.

If he did, then he would have missed the completely blank look on Viletta's face despite groping herself. He had expected some self-consciousness. But she was in a complete trance like state, like with the guards while they were performing a geass command. The only difference appeared to be that Viletta was in a continual geassed state rather than a conditional one.

But he couldn't let her walk around like a robot or people would start believing she was exposed to some kind of gas that targeted the brain. A complete collapse of the sense of self, except for the need to follow orders would make every noble wet his pants in anticipation.

The very thought it could be applied to numbers would have them sink billions into a project that didn't even exist…..But for how long?

No, he needed to calibrate her. He kept looking her straight in the eyes, that were staring back as if he didn't even exist.

"I order you to act as natural as possible while fulfilling all my orders. You will treat them with urgency, but no more than you would ordinarily. You will postpone their completion if social customs dictate you take a break to socialize or any other excuse to come across as a normal person."

"Yes, my lord." the female soldier now answered hesitantly rather than monotonously as if a superior just gave her leave to speak freely.

He smirked at the display "I'm Lelouch and I prefer you call me that, unless someone can overhear us." it seemed like his tweaking worked.

The soldier smiled in acceptance "Okay Lelouch, and I'm Viletta Nu by the way."

"Pleasure to meet you Viletta." Lelouch charmingly shook her hand despite him virtually forcing her to do so, like a puppet on a string.

He didn't particularly care he had stripped her of all her free will. She was participating in genocide. And considering she was a mass murderess, he didn't feel he had to respect her rights all too much.

He would be cordial to her, but that was about it. Though he supposed he was also a mass murderer, so he shouldn't call the kettle black.

Anyways another field test was in order.

"Don't move." He then walked right in front of her and stood there while watching her face. They were intimately close, but Viletta showed no sign of awkwardness or a desire to move away. Either she really didn't mind him being in kissing distance or just had a small personal zone to begin with. It was probably a necessity in the army where luxurious quarters were only reserved for the noble officers.

He decided to go a step further. He placed his hand on her shoulder and slowly let it drop down. But despite the fact that he was dangerously close to groping her; Viletta still wasn't making a move to stop him. In fact if anything she seemed to be anticipating it...

"Viletta why aren't you stopping me?" He finally asked when it really appeared that Viletta either had no grasp of social customs to begin with, or they were somehow altered.

She fidgeted and poked her fingers together "You are my master and I read somewhere… I thought it was normal master." She avoided eye contact.

"..."

So she didn't know what was normal anymore, and took her cues from some erotic smut she read on a day off. Apparently geass wasn't all-knowing but took the information from the subject's brain and was also limited in applying it.

Did Viletta think this was all a dream and just went along with it?

Hmm geas seemed to put her in a hypnotic state, so the dream like state wasn't so farfetched. But the willful interpretation of orders when they were vague was annoying at best. He couldn't spell out her every action and if she relied on random memories including fictional ones. Rather than actual experience...

He got a shudder. He didn't need to worry for his own life of course. But Viletta might think it normal to kill someone when he asked her to 'Get rid of someone' at the door. A simple turn of phrase could be taken as a kill command.

He sighed and looked at his puppet, robot and obedient puppy with disappointed eyes. "I'm tempted to just kill you and wash my hands of you." He muttered to himself.

The sheer number of permutations where misinterpretation could cost him was staggering. Especially since geass seemed to grab a random memory that gave a relevant _reference _rather than the rule that was ingrained into them. So simply because Viletta read more about someone getting groped than actual memories where someone tried to grope her. It would have a higher chance of getting picked.

But stories like that invariably liked to deviate from what was normal or else it would be boring. So they would act differently, depending on what kind of inappropriate stories his geas slaves preferred.

"I'm sorry master." Viletta immediately and dejectedly replied. She looked towards the ground in shame but he spotted her nipples had gotten erect. God! Did that mean she was a closet masochist or got turned into one?

Lelouch decided to ignore the fact he had a willing sex slave and focused on the war zone around him. Note to self: Never use the 'Obey' command again!

He took a deep breath and allowed the screams of the wrongfully persecuted to reinvigorate his hatred and drive. He nearly got sucked into another flashback of his sister's wrongful persecution. But he remained in control through sheer willpower and a few anti anxiety pills.

"Villetta is there enough room in that knightmare for two?" He knew there was but asked anyway. He preferred to pretend she still had some freewill, it was good practice for later.

"Yes there is some free room behind the seat to store luggage. If I squeeze in I might be able to fit master Lelouch."

"There won't be any need for that Viletta. I will be fine behind the seat, I need you behind the controls. I don't doubt you are the more skilled knightmare pilot between us."

He did doubt actually, because he had been practicing in a simulator for years ever since they came out. But he needed to be focused on the tactical screens. So he didn't want to be distracted by having to move the knightmare around.

While he climbed into the knightmare he wondered about what that green haired girl could have possible wanted him to do with this power. Did she give it merely to allow him to escape as a last act of goodwill. Or did she have something else in store and if so, how did she expect him to accomplish it? Did she know him well enough to think he would unknowingly fulfill her wishes, even without being told?

And how did she get that power to begin with? Could she give it away freely to anyone or was one the limit? The guards hadn't been wearing any protective eyewear indicating he was the only one.

So either one was the limit or the girl had simply been that stubborn. The guards had said that Clovis had a lack of progress because the girl refused to cooperate.

The more he thought about it, the more he wanted to know. He resolved to pay Bartley Asprius a visit as soon as possible to squeeze more answers out of him.

Lelouch had trouble folding and bending his body to fit comfortably inside the narrow space behind the seat. He idly wondered if Viletta could have actually fitted as he looked over her shoulder at the tactical screens.

From the troop movements he inferred where the terrorists were suspected of hiding and directed Viletta towards them while he played with her radio. Britannian army intelligence had already cracked the frequencies the terrorists were using. But had ignored them when nothing of worth was reported.

Their arrogance and overconfidence would be their undoing in this battle. He ordered Viletta towards the tracks where the knightmare shipment was still scheduled to arrive. He ignored his slightly wounded pride when Viletta took sharp corners easily where he might have dinged the paint job a bit.

Instead he focused on the only terrorist of note.

"The west entrance."

He merely said that to grab the attention of the red Glasgow pilot . Once he had it. He gave the full order.

"Who is this, how do you know this frequency?" came the predictable answer back.

"That doesn't matter if you want to win. You'll just going to have to trust me." He was a bit annoyed by the back talk. But he would have been more worried if he hadn't gotten any.

If he actually had gotten such a brain-dead response. He would have considered cutting his losses right away.

He smirked at the faint 'win' coming back over the radio. He wondered if these people realized that their mumblings were actually picked up by the microphone.

He ordered Viletta into position and soon the red Glasgow came barreling down the tracks, heading for a collision course with the train he had been planning to rob. Well he was still going to rob it, he was just going to use it sooner than expected.

"Well done. Since you trusted me, you get to win!" He purposefully phrased it like that to link following him and victory in her mind. Once he actually delivered the victory it would be a powerful subconscious argument to keep on following him.

Viletta soon launched her ambush and the two knightmares in pursuit were easily dealt with. He immediately ordered her to retreat before the red Glasgow could focus her attention on him. He didn't need any questions he couldn't answer right now, like 'How did he get this knightmare?'.

Which predictably came right away over the radio. At least this pilot didn't seem to lack in the brain department. He checked the Britannian list and flipped to the presumed leader's frequency.

"Are you the leader?" He asked casually, despite knowing the line was monitored. Thanks to the knowledge they were only recording it for protocol's sake rather than actually listening to it.

He didn't particularly care who the leader was. He wasn't going to let him actually lead from now on. But he needed his approval to move forward with his plan.

He offered his bait "I present to you the cargo in that train over there. They are tools for our victory."

"If you want to use them to win, then follow my orders."

He listened in amusement to their astonished gasps, as they found out the train was filled with factory fresh Glasgows.

He then ordered the red Glasgow to run decoy, despite it having the most skilled pilot. Some might believe that placing her in a new Glasgow would make more sense to boost overall firepower, but those fools underestimated the power of a well sprung trap.

And any good trap needed even better bait and that red Glasgow was the only known knightmare on the terrorists' side and was guaranteed to draw the britannians in like flies to honey.

It was obviously severely damaged and thus easily taken out, meaning they would get the glory of taking out the only noteworthy enemy in this battle without much effort.

This would make the pilots reckless and their commanders would be no better after having already crushed everything in their path. Any general would have sprung his trap already if he had any, thus making it unlikely there was one.

Lelouch was going to make them pay dearly for their foolhardiness.

After giving them some time to get situated, he asked for confirmation that they could operate the Glasgows.

"Can't you tell us who you are, at least your name?" came the reply from their so-called 'leader'

He had to seriously question his intelligence to actually ask that. After he had just found all of their frequencies! Granted he had cheated by using Britannian intelligence, but that just made it worse.

The very fact that an unknown party was ordering them around should clue them in, that the radio frequencies weren't safe.

But he didn't want to clue them in, if they were too stupid to realize this for themselves. It would only create panic, but he needed to answer nonetheless.

He decided not to rub his face in it but subtly hint at it "I can't do that, what if these signals were being intercepted."

Not giving him time to continue this line of questioning, he gave his orders to ambush the glasgows by shooting them through the wall.

He listened carefully to the doubts and heard the leader give his permission to follow his orders. He smiled as he saw the Glasgows get destroyed on his tactical screen.

His enjoyment was shared by his new comrades in arms, as they agreed as one to do whatever he said.

Now that he had their trust, he proceeded to give them codenames and did the same to the map to make it useless for the britannians to listen in on him unless they rewinded the tape. Something he highly doubted they would think to do during a battle. the slap in the face after it was all over was just icing on the cake. With a smile at the prospect, he ordered the terrorists to launch urban guerrilla warfare tactics on the britannians. One by one the britannians got ambushed. it was simple child's play to intercept them, when he could clearly see them on his IFF screen.

"Now then the enemy has five options, it's their move." mused Lelouch out loud once he cleared the units inside of the encirclement. He couldn't risk ordering an break out while the Britannian formation was still strong. So he needed to wait for their move to exploit the weaknesses, it would create.

He waited calmly and then after discarding the possibility of a feint "That was more foolish than I had expected" commented Lelouch as he watched all the units close in all at once.

He admitted it was problematic to deal with so many enemies all at once and his troops could be overwhelmed by them, especially if they lost heart or didn't follow his orders.

He however already had a solution to this problem ready, which was inspired by the exploding truck back in the tunnel.

"Q1 do you have a map of old town."

"I do, but it has no current land marks"

"it'll do"

He was familiar enough with the old city that he didn't need any current land marks to make sense of it. It had been seven years since he last stepped foot here. But he still remembered it from his youth and had studied several maps in preparation for his operation. He only needed the map to refresh his memory and double-check things.

"Mission number three, is everything prepared."

He barely listened to their reply as he waited with bated breath, as the enemy forces clustered closely together.

He dramatically declared "With this, I call check!" just as Q1 fired her slash harken into a load bearing wall and set off a chain of collapses.

The structural integrity had been damaged so much, it had practically stripped the tunnels of all of its redundancy. Once one wall collapsed, it put a larger strain on the surrounding walls, which it couldn't bear either. Causing them to collapse as well.

He laughed uproariously at the sight of the entire enemy army being wiped out in a single trap. He could hardly have hoped for a better outcome. These kinds of results hardly ever happened, it took a lot of skill and luck to not have at least some units escape the trap.

Well he supposed in this case, it was mostly thanks to his brother's incompetence. He was now faced with a dilemma however, to press his attack on the Britannian mobile command centre or not.

He didn't really want to kill his brother, besides brotherly compassion. It was widely accepted that it made sense to kill skilled generals through assassinations. But the underlying assumption was that incompetent generals would take their place.

But now he was faced with a particularly incompetent general, that couldn't be overruled by anyone except for the Emperor. To kill him was practically shooting himself In the foot if he wanted to achieve more military victories here.

Well on the other hand, if he could draw Cornelia here and lure her into a trap as well. He could land a much more significant blow than all the meaningless victories against Clovis put together.

Cornelia and Schneizel were the driving force behind Britannia now. If he defeated them both, then Britannia itself would be vulnerable. Yes he would take the risk, he believed in high risk and high rewards after all.

Muddling through skirmish after skirmish here, would accomplish nothing in the long run.

"All units re-supply at the cargo train, make sure you have enough ammo and replace your energy filler. Once you are done, see to it that the civilians get out and then hide in the ruins in wait for possible reinforcements."

He waited a bit to let it sink in, and for some confirmations of his orders before he continued "The enemy can't call in reinforcements easily, because it will make it harder to spin in the media. Clovis may be a fool when it comes to military affairs or just ruling in general, but the man does understand the media.

He probably won't risk them finding out about him ordering a massacre. But he is also severely off-balance right now because he has lost. He may just do something reckless so hold your positions!"

"Then why don't we rush in there and finish him off! Before he can hurt anymore Japanese" asked one of his more impulsive members

He wanted to explain the value of Clovis as an enemy commander; but he doubted that logic would be calmly accepted by them.

"Our main priority is getting the civilians to safety for now. If we attack him, we can be sure that every army base in the vicinity will send its entire garrison to protect him. We might risk it, after we clear the civilians; but for now it is an unacceptable risk!" He loudly proclaimed

He heard a chorus of muttered and grunted agreements with his assessment. They didn't like it because it forced them to come down of their victory high. But he didn't care if they liked it or not, because their part in this was over.

The enemies forces had thinned enough that he could make his way through them by just claiming to be some unknown soldier. With so many dead he could just claim to be someone they didn't know and the time it took to confirm it, was a big enough opportunity to geass them.

Scratch that he didn't need to geass anyone along the way; he could just have Viletta lead the way. She was second in command of the purist faction, meaning she held enough clout to bully her way through most checkpoints without incident.

* * *

**Author notes**

**Lancelot**

Some of you might be wondering why the lancelot didn't show up with Suzaku in it. The simple reason is that it hasn't been built yet because of lack of funding. In canon Cecile reminded the Earl of pudding that because of their high research costs they had to show something tangible to prince Schneizel soon. The plans for the Lancelot already exist in theory but the Earl of pudding hasn't found anyone yet willing to invest in it.

They say war is the mother of all invention because during war people are willing to invest in risky and seemingly insane ideas to gain an advantage over their enemies. A lot of which don't pan out but provide a piece of the puzzle for other ideas. Now that the war has begun, Lloyd will get more funding.

**Morality **

Now some of you may be annoyed by Lelouch callously enslaving people. but they were all involved in a massacre. Some of them may be willfully ignorant, because Suzaku was told the poison gas was responsible for all the eleven deaths. But that's just paper-thin propaganda.

Ignorance may excuse you if you couldn't have know better but Suzaku should have seen all the bullet holes in the civilians and the fact that he was ordered to kill them as well. But despite that, he was perfectly willing to defeat the terrorists to stop the fighting to save Lelouch and that girl. Which meant he either believed the rest of the elevens wouldn't be killed anymore then, or he just didn't care. He was willing to sacrifice many innocents just to save his one friend.

I have more trouble with that logic than giving murderers a prison sentence within their own bodies and forcing them to work it off.

**Viletta **

The reason I geassed her into a slave though was because it was the logical conclusion after Lelouch narrowly escaped the firing squad. His conditional command had a loophole which was the whole reason for writing the arc similar to cannon. But as a precaution he would start using continual commands instead, like in the latter part of the second season. To prevent a story killer or early finale; I had to write in a limitation that would prevent him from using it. He now considers 'obey' commands to be too risky, rather than immoral. Since I didn't think he would be overly bothered by that compared to the gains. Yes canon Lelouch was bothered by it, but my Lelouch has less stabilizing influences. Jeremiah, Sayako and Ruben all feed his hubris while only Milly criticizes him. Feedback from your community shapes who you are and the same goes for Lelouch.


	15. Providing the proper narration

**An ABC for baby patriots by Ernest Ames **

"**C is for colonies.**

**Rightly we boast.**

**That of all the great nations**

**Great Britain has most."**

**Chapter fifteen providing the proper narration. **

**Bartley Asprius **

The door to the command center opened unnoticed by any of its inhabitants. The sheer humiliation they had suffered clouded all their thoughts. They were desperately searching for a ray of light piercing the gloom, AKA 'How do I spin this, so I don't get demoted for gross incompetence? '

It wasn't until someone tapped him on his shoulder that he tore his eyes away from the lost signals flooding the main screen.

"What!" He snapped at whoever dared to break him away from finding an explanation for prince Clovis.

His indignation though got temporarily suppressed at the sight of Viletta's impressive assets. He quickly reminded himself of the number of sexual harassment complaints filed against him and forced his gaze upwards.

Just in time to hear her ask him "So I need you to supervise the interrogation of the prisoner."

He nodded, despite not knowing what he just agreed to. But it sounded reasonable and could potentially help him get out of this mess. But mostly he was too proud to admit; or willing to let the pile of complaints get even higher. There was a limit to how much the military was prepared to suppress. "Lead the way."

He dabbed some sweat off his forehead while walking through the corridors. It was an annoying side effect of being obese. It was embarrassing but even walking a decent distance forced him to dab nowadays. If he wanted to appear presentable in polite company.

He rounded the corner mid-dab and heard someone say "Answer all my questions." He lowered the handkerchief from in front of his eyes and looked at the insolent private standing before him. "Explain yourself private! "Said Bartley with a glare. He knew he didn't inspire respect but if even cannon fodder started thinking they were his equal….

The private looked properly shaken but a quick glance at Viletta seemed to restore his confidence. The raven haired youth straightened himself and commanded once more "I order you to answer all my questions."

A snarl was already on his lips and an insulting punishment on his tongue but before he could speak, everything went blank.

* * *

Lelouch let out a sigh of relief once he could see Bartley's thousand yards stare. Blasted handkerchief! The list of potential things used to block his geass had already been extensive but a fucking _handkerchief _wasn't on it. Who still used those things, aside from the fat fuck in front of him?

From the corner of his eyes he spotted Viletta looking at him like an eager puppy and absentmindedly complimented her on her good work. It was oddly disturbing, despite him wishing for people to just do whatever he wanted since he was old enough to walk. The famous saying 'Be careful what you wish for' came to mind, once again. He doubted it would be the last.

He turned his attention to his latest victim who he at least put under a conditional geass order. The thought of having Bartley as a geass slave caused a shudder to go down his spine. He would basically be stealing his older brother's little slave! Never mind the other things that were seriously wrong with it. Who knew what perversions Bartley had?

Lelouch decided to get started "Bartley tell me everything you know about that green haired girl you were so desperate to find."

"She.. Issah known… as.. Co.. Code R.. My lord.."

He had singled out Bartley because he knew Clovis' flowery speech wasted too much time. But when he heard the stuttering and groveling of Bartley. He almost yearned for Clovis' speech full of air and no substance.

He was getting nowhere in a hurry, so he ordered "Speak without stuttering and be concise Bartley." Thank god he hadn't broken eye contact yet or he'd have been stuck here all day.

"Yes my lord. The green haired girl is apparently immortal." Lelouch's jaw dropped, though it explained how she still moved with a fucking bullet in her brain. "His highness prince Schneizel found her during the first invasion of Japan. He captured her and wanted to study her, but lacked an area outside of anyone else's jurisdiction to do so. Eventually he approached prince Clovis with the project and his highness eagerly jumped at the chance to find out the secret behind immortality."

It figured that Schneizel was pulling the strings from the start and that Clovis was merely brought onboard for convenience's sake.

Bartley droned on "She refused to talk despite using every interrogation technique known to us. So we haven't been able to establish how she became immortal other than that she truly is one."

Lelouch took that to mean they had used every torture technique known to man which meant that the fact that she was still sane was very impressive. Well she wasn't a vegetable or a raving lunatic at least.

Bartley droned on "She isn't invulnerable to pain or damage but regenerates from any wound until she reaches the same base state. If a lethal wound is administered she dies; but revives herself after a duration depending on the severity of the wound.

We have tried to hinder this process by keeping her body parts in separate containers. This resulted in a very long and bloody process where the subject continuously tried to recreate the body despite having no room to grow. We determined that it was simply impossible. But it didn't kill her only put her down permanently."

Lelouch suppressed his gag reflex when he imagined that scenario. It faintly reminded him of the brutal execution method of being quartered. He was even morbidly curious why they didn't burn her at the stake instead. After all, they refused to cut women into four pieces and displaying them publicly for _public decency_. Were they less prudish, or too scared that burning her to ashes would actually kill her?

"After we established the limits of her immortality, we hit a dead end on how to replicate it. Blood results proved to be inconclusive other than showing its cells were more degraded than we might expect from someone enjoying the benefits of modern medicine.

In fact upon closer examination of her body we concluded she lived as one of the working class based on the wear and tear on her bones. This is quite interesting because any damage to them isn't permanent; which heavily suggests this was caused before she became immortal! We haven't called in the necessary experts to determine her exact professions because it was deemed unnecessary." Lelouch couldn't help but wonder how they cleaned her bones thoroughly enough to have a good look at them. Did they use flesh eating bugs or did they boil it off. He swallowed some vomit and rinsed his mouth with some saliva to get rid of the taste and acid burn.

Bartley however, seemed completely unaffected by his gruesome narration. "What did you do afterwards?" asked Lelouch though he already dreaded the answer.

"We started using her as the pilot study for several experimental medical studies. Studies which by all accounts weren't ready to be used on humans yet and were mostly in their infant stages. Thanks to actual experimental data however, these studies have made leaps and bounds and have moved beyond the merely theoretical." Lelouch couldn't take it anymore. Just listening was torture!

"Okay stop! Bartley, I don't need to hear anymore. Compile a report of everything you did, including the results of those medical studies. After that continue to act as you normally would but send me a monthly report to my email address." Hopefully it would be easier to sort through it with a detached mentality in written form. He doubted it could be worse.

"Yes my lord." Bartley prostrated before him a bit before scurrying off to compile said report. He needed to remember to geass every single scientist later on as well. He couldn't allow those mad scientists to get away with this unchecked, but to mindlessly destroy it, was to spit in the sacrifice made by their victim even more.

He knew there had been many medical breakthroughs thanks to the inhumane experiments done on prisoners of war during the great European war. This was no different and it would happen again in the future. He could only make sure this victim's sacrifice wasn't in vain and actually helped people in the long run.

But that was something he would deal with later or rather his research team back in Europe. Right now, he needed to focus on stopping Clovis without killing him or humiliating him too badly. A disgraced general was as good as a dead one, neither would take the field again.

And he couldn't kill Clovis if he wanted to root out every scientist involved. They would scurry into their little hidey holes, if Clovis died under any circumstance. He'd be lucky to find even a quarter of them. Even if he had years to search for them, which he didn't

So how…?

He needed a greater threat that needed dealing with, or an excuse at least for him to withdraw. But nothing except a full blown invasion would merit breaking off this battle. In gambling terminology, Clovis was already married to the pot.

So if he couldn't make him fold in a dignified matter, then why not have him win a small pot. He looked out a nearby window and saw the ruins of Shinjuku get…well ruined. The people were either running, dead or somewhere in between.

He sighed, he had to allow a massacre…For military expediency.

He felt something churning inside his guts. Was it guilt, disgust, or even shame?

It didn't matter in the end. He was still going to sacrifice them and he doubted they would appreciate him shedding a tear for them. Their deaths would reinvigorate the struggle in Japan. The sheer outrage would replace the awed wonder, curiosity and genuine belief in a free Japan, if he had gone through with killing Clovis.

He took out his radio and ordered a tactical retreat and rattled off a few directions on where they had to dump their knightmares to avoid being hassled by the britannians when they escaped.

"What! But the britannians are still out there killing Japanese! We can't possibly abandon them now!" Lelouch thought the guy was named Ohgi but he wasn't sure.

With a sigh he informed them " By now prince Clovis will have called in reinforcements and they will be arriving shortly. I tried to infiltrate the G1 mobile base but I couldn't get to the command center." He tried to sound as defeated as possible "I'm sorry but without me forcing prince Clovis to call a retreat or a ceasefire; this battle will be lost by sheer attrition. You've fought bravely, but I can't lead you to victory against these odds." He actually felt genuinely sorry. But he wouldn't have admitted as much to strangers unless it served a purpose.

If he remembered right, the Japanese had a thing for humility. Even false humility.

After a short silence where Ohgi came to terms with it himself. He replied "Don't worry about it. You did the best you could. I guess it was inevitable. We only had a train's worth of supplies against all of Britannia. Running out of ammo is a depressingly familiar sight amongst us resistance fighters."

Lelouch gave a weak chuckle at the feeble joke "Anyways, you'd better ditch those frames and focus on getting the civilians out. Quite a few holes opened up in their encirclement, so if we hurry…."He trailed off.

Ohgi got the hint and hastily asked for further orders to help the evacuation. The man didn't even blink this time when he asked him to abandon the knightmares at specific coordinates. But he wasn't complaining, in fact he was smiling faintly at the windfall.

At least his mission was a success, if he limited it to its original parameters.

Acquiring geass, avoiding a firing squad, turning someone into a slave, finding out about a royal conspiracy to commit unethical experiments, turning the tide in a battle, allowing a massacre and choosing to let his brother live, all weren't.

Well, when life gives you lemons, add a ton of sugar and call it lemonade. He pulled out his phone and called Leila.

He flipped his cell phone open again and dialed Leila "Hey Leila, I managed to command a local terrorist faction into opening up an escape route. By using those knightmares we were planning to steal." He said quickly before Leila got a word in.

"It's good to hear from you Lelouch. I was getting worried because you didn't contact us for so long. " Replied Leila back warmly with a hint of worry and longing in her voice.

"Yeah sorry about that, I got too caught up in the battle. Anyways I told the terrorists to EXFIL without the knightmares. So if the encirclement is still weak, we can pick up the knightmares with the trucks and still complete our objective."

Leila tched "My scouts already reported seeing VTOL in the vicinity, so we only have a fifteen minute window at most." But before Lelouch could get annoyed with her, she added "But I'm sure we'll manage. At least then we can salvage something from this cluster fuck, thanks to you."

"Thanks, it's nice to be appreciated. I'll send you the coordinates, so you can pick them up." He said tartly

She replied contritely "Okay I'll get right on it."

He hung up after a few exchanged pleasantries and exited the mobile command center, intent on rescuing a certain witch.

* * *

**Later that night **

**Prince Clovis **

Clovis brought down the half-empty glass of wine from his lips. He licked them once and in a fit of rage at the realization he still wasn't drunk enough, he threw the glass at the wall.

The priceless painting by some renaissance painter wrinkled and gained a pinkish tint. He absently noted that it was going to cost millions to restore it and quietly resolved to just trash it. The servants were gaping at it; but Clovis ignored them and stalked to the liquor cabinet.

Why he had bothered to try to remain somewhat sober, was beyond him! Didn't Galbraith say that nothing was so admirable in politics as a short memory. So what if he was going to be drunk, or have killer hangover when he had to give a press conference.

If anything, it would sell the performance. If he was drunk then he would be more smooth in his delivery which many impromptu TV appearances during parties had proven. And if he had a hangover, then he would seem more sympathetic with the tragic losses suffered. Courtesy of all his pained grimaces at every question.

The question who those tragic losses were though, was a matter of debate. The mainland would tear his head off for the military losses, as would the settlement. But the elevens would bitch and whine about the residents of Shinjuku.

He couldn't name either for fear of inflaming the other side which would result in more civil discontent. Which will bring out the extremist nutcases who will provoke the other side into a united front; fracturing his area even more.

But even if he managed to be respectful to both sides then he would still have to deal with the collective outrage stemming from the Shinjuku massacre. A long series of retaliatory strikes more vicious than anything ever seen before had been predicted by even his most moronic advisors. The nobles would feel threatened and blame the obvious cause, which unfortunately was him.

He took a gulp straight from a bottle of bourbon to suppress the memory of Schneizel's honeyed speech that convinced him to start code R in the first place. It sounded good at first but there had been no going back ever since. His fingerprints were all over it and he would take the fall while Schneizel got off Scot free. Essentially making him Schneizel's bitch for years.

He would have welcomed a partnership. Instead he had to do blatantly stupid things to set in motion ripple effects that would benefit Schneizel's agenda. Sometimes he would get sweet talked into doing it, but mostly he was forced into it and left standing with the bag of shit.

The Shinjuku incident was just the latest on the list where he had to cover both their asses. But now, he had gone over the line and the nobles would eat him alive. With Schneizel commenting on the side-lines about how disappointed he was and how he wished things could have gone differently or some such drivel.

But the nobles wouldn't be the first to point the finger. No, that job was reserved for the European media. Somehow those elevens didn't have enough money to buy food but they did have cameras and a WIFI connection to upload it.

His informants had already told him that several major newspapers and TV stations had picked up on it. The only reason why they hadn't broadcast yet, was because their viewers were still asleep. But that only gave them more time to come up with more vicious rhetoric.

Probably something like 'Crimson Clovis' or something equally trite and unimaginative. He was however somewhat looking forward to the posters. Was he going to be portrayed as taking a bath in eleven blood or would they be more subtle and just have him pick his teeth with a bone. Off course both would have a text claiming he wanted more like a glutton.

The very thought… He shook his head in disgust.

Well, at least it would add some variation to the mix. The ones that portrayed him as a dandy were all but declaring him gay.

The fact that he had approved several gay rights laws didn't help either. Just because he wasn't one, didn't mean he couldn't sympathize with them. But the media just took his denial as confirmation and the elevens called him hypocrite.

He knocked back some bourbon on the rocks in annoyance. Didn't these idiots get that he had to follow national policy. Regional policy was basically coloring in-between the lines set out by the emperor.

The fact that the emperor somehow wasn't prejudiced against homosexuals despite their admittedly effeminate stereotype wasn't his fault. Clovis just called it a blessing and made liberal use of it while it was allowed.

The fact that they didn't realize it was a proxy campaign for more equality for numbers however, was most vexing. Yes, it saved his neck but still annoying.

The similarities were there and the rhetoric paved some of the way for the front runners of eleven equality. Women's suffrage had undoubtedly helped end discrimination based on color by promoting a culture of tolerance.

Heck his whole artistic focus of his viceroy ship was to promote more tolerance. However, the whole come together through art seemed iffy, even to him; on the best of days. Thanks to museums stonewalling his every attempt to include eleven art to get britannians to appreciate their culture through their art. Yes, they accepted it and promised to display it. But it either ended up in the restrooms or the basement.

It was times like this though when he really felt like tearing his hair out. He had publicly screwed over his main goal as a viceroy and he had lost his pet project.

Well, that wasn't accurate mused Clovis. He had never fucked up this much. Leveling an entire district and hope nobody noticed…. What was he, high!

Planned urban renewal… That had to be the weakest excuse he'd ever heard and that included Guinevere's outbursts.

He took another hit of bourbon straight from the bottle. Heck he'd wish he had been high. If he'd been as high as a kite then he could get a medical check up to excuse his temporary lapse of judgment.

But no…. it would permanently undermine his credibility to lead and put everything he'd build during his reign under scrutiny.

But if it was a enemy tactic…?

Hmmm that had potential.

He'd already pinned poison gas on the elevens. So drugging him wasn't that farfetched compared to that. Well beside the fact that his entire staff was full of pure-blooded britannians and a part of them nobility.

The mere mention of infiltration would be a smudge on their honor and the nobility would fight tooth and nail against any smudge on their vaunted honor.

Which would divide his support among the nobility and weaken his powerbase etc etc etc…

He took another sip, which ended up being several big gulps. The room swayed a bit and he had to correct his balance after he overcorrected. In his drunken stumble he knocked some papers of his desk. With a scowl he leaned over to see what they were. The numerous autopsy reports didn't improve his mood.

His entire fucking guard had been killed execution style in the most humiliating way possible. It had stumped the military police. How the hell the most elite and prestigious unit in the entire fucking army had been killed by slugs from the same fucking gun! Was a mystery that was immediately covered up and labeled for his eyes only.

Since the unit was almost entirely made up off nobles of all ranks with some as high as a Margrave. Making a honorable death in combat better than the media shit storm filled with conspiracy theories. He still had to suffer through rants from Cornelia whenever she got another reporter trying to uncover the truth of Empress Marianne's assassination. Just reading them made you doubt everything, from whether the emperor really loved her, to if the Empress was actually a woman.

He chortled a bit at the remembrance of that preposterous rumor, no doubt spread by her enemies. He took another gulp and perused the reports again.

At a cursory glance it looked like a firefight but even the most rudimentary forensic investigation revealed that they had been executed. Most of his military advisors suggested they'd been overwhelmed and forced to surrender and then interrogated.

But afterwards rather than let go; they'd been sadistically murdered, by having to watch as their friends were killed in front of their eyes. The fact that it had been done by bullets from one of their own guns only confirmed this theory.

He however knew there happened to be a immortal on the scene. A witness that couldn't be silenced, only detained. Luckily however, the girl wasn't likely to be believed or willing to expose herself.

Something he still had to be worried about, due to a freak accident that just happened to his top secret transport truck.

Even he wasn't that fucking gullible! But he had no clue where to start looking for the leaks in his organization. He'd have to rely on Bartley… He stifled a groan.

Schneizel… He needed Schneizel. As much as it pained him to admit it.

But the fucker wouldn't touch him with a ten foot pole, now that he was damaged goods. After all the White prince couldn't get mud on his pristine clothes, let alone blood.

He went to take another gulp but noticed the bottle was empty. Huh when'd that happen?

* * *

**On another continent, three hours ago **

**Prince Schneizel **

Schneizel picked up a small rubber band and tied it around one of his toy soldiers and placed him back on the map. The map in question detailed the ongoing struggle with the African federation that was secretly backed by the Europeans but it wasn't representative of troop deployments. Not really.

Instead it was a graphical representation of all the violent incidents in the war up until now and how close the news reporters were when it happened. The rubber bands represented a embedded journalist and red flags were a atrocity committed by Britannian troops and the green flags were ones by the Africans.

Luckily with Africa's bloody history and continued internal strife it didn't take long before discipline broke and the soldiers started to vent their anger and frustration on innocent bystanders. They were small and isolated events for the most part, a bar brawl that went out of control where some had to be sent to the hospital. But he was looking for the gem.

In the modern era a single well documented massacre could turn public opinion against a nation's own army. If he could find one and get it on tape, so he could air it on international television. Then he could launch a media campaign to drive the members of the African federation apart. Especially if members of other nations killed the locals or used the war as a distraction to satisfy their old grudges.

The arbitrary lines drawn up by the European colonialists was certainly going to act in his favor. If he could just provide the right opportunity for them to let loose.

Off course his own men weren't angels either and he already had received numerous reports of them raping and pillaging from the local populace. The trick however was to skillfully maneuver the world press, so they only saw the aftermath of the African side.

The Britannian press were obedient and only reported from areas that were declared safe zones by the military. Naturally they didn't get any good scoops but they made up for it by adding a patriotic twist. The international press however was a rabid dog looking for anything to sink its teeth into. They'd go right into harm's way and risk getting shot to get up close and personal.

Sometimes a bit too close, so they'd '_accidentally__' _get shot by a stray bullet.

Sadly the Africans maintained a similar discipline making it rather hard to get even a provocative photo out.

Kanon Maldini walked into the room carrying a new stack of reports for him to sort through. "Any luck prince Schneizel?" He asked conversationally.

Schneizel sighed "Nope, but I think with this new arrangement we should be able to catch something in our net fairly soon."

Maldini nodded and placed his reports to his right and then decided to observe the board in silence. Schneizel decided a bit of conversation was in order to get his mind off things. "Funny isn't it, how people get all bend out of shape over a few hundred people dying."

Maldini looked slightly disturbed by the idea of being dismissive of a massacre "Perhaps but isn't that same indignation what has driven us forward and built our current peace seeking society." despite the vitriol of the emperor, most brittannians weren't hungry for war, just ignorant of them and complacent. So long as everything was perfect in their little world then they wouldn't look outside and see the suffering of others. Bread and games for the people still applied today, only the games took another form.

Schneizel couldn't resist a chuckle at that " Kanon the world is anything but peace loving, they just claim they are. It would be better to say that the world is repressed and has turned killing into something hidden, private, mysterious, frightening and dirty. It used to be something serious, messy and slightly boring that everyone did as a part of life. But now it's become insulated and a housewife doesn't go wring the neck of a chicken herself, if she wants to cook it. A animal rights activist just claimed on the news the other day that: 'Even if the death of one rat cured all diseases then it still wouldn't make a difference to me. In the scheme of life we're equal'." Schneizel raised a eyebrow at the moronic statement and waited for Kanon's response, wondering if he could possibly defend it.

"I'll admit there are a few extremists, but that's only natural." sidestepped Kanon " Even before that, there were people who were either extremely violent or peaceful. To deviate from the norm is only normal for humans."

Schneizel nodded and conceded the point "True but it bears a striking resemblance to the Victorian era where people put skirts on their furniture to cover the legs. Thinking it would offend their delicate sensibilities. But in that same era of sexual repression, pornography and child prostitution flourished. And a wave of sexual child abuse began to ripple through the generations. You could say the more we repress it, the more we become obsessed by it. I've had to put a stop to several laws that wanted to ban any depiction of violence on TV while at the same time those movies become increasingly popular and violent crime rates skyrocket. They are symptoms of a pathological dichotomy of a simultaneous repression and obsession with violence."

Kanon frowned "Are you comparing humanity to a child that's told not to do something and can't resist doing it."

Schneizel mused "Perhaps" He allowed "But you can't deny that a society without sex won't last longer than a generation and the same goes for killing. Every major city in our empire has to exterminate millions of rats and mice. If they don't, then instead of being a world supplier of grain we'll be unable to feed ourselves and millions of people around the world would face starvation."

"Vermin aren't the same as humans though. "Countered Maldini giving a meaningful look to the bowl of fruit on his desk. "And wasn't Sigmund Freud personally disgraced and scorned by his peers for even suggesting that sexual abuse of children was happening? The acknowledgement that it does happen is extremely recent and people still prefer to wear their blinders."

Schneizel smiled at how his own analogy was being used against him "So you're saying that people have always been in denial and the dichotomy isn't to blame?"

Maldini shrugged "Perhaps, it's hard to say without any conclusive proof one way or the other."

Schneizel rubbed his finger along a toy soldier "Well in any case it's a fact that people are affronted by it now. And I fully intend to exploit the moral outrage to bring a swift end to the war in Africa and the bloodshed."

Just then his phone rang and he picked up to hear a report about Japan.

* * *

**Author notes **

I made Schneizel old school in his opinions on killing. It was the only way I could explain his dismissive attitude towards two billion people dying to achieve peace with Damocles. Some people just call him a sociopath and be done with it. And I'm not necessarily disputing that. But I wanted a bit more of how he thinks.

**Clovis **

Yes I made him misunderstood but that doesn't mean he will get more screen time in the future. Since I originally planned for the massacre to be stopped and him to fade out due to the military disgrace. But that was too cliché, so I changed it. But I still have no plot line waiting for him. Maybe I'll think of something as I go. I'm playing with something that combines him with Viletta but it doesn't flow.


	16. Why is it called the aftermath, where's

"**A patriot is mocked, scorned and hated; yet when his cause succeeds, all men will join him, for then it costs nothing to be a patriot.****"**** Mark Twain**

**Arc five picking up the pieces**

**Chapter Sixteen why is it called the aftermath. Where's the math? **

Kallen was sifting through rubble looking for anything worth salvaging. But she only found broken rubbish instead of repairable rubbish.

Ohgi had been against her even being in the ghetto right after the battle. Tensions between the Japanese and britannians were still high and with her Britannian looks she could easily be targeted.

She had held firm though and won the argument through sheer willpower. Translation; endless nagging and persistently threatening to do something reckless.

Ohgi had given in, but she had to suffer through Tamaki's company. So he could vouch for her when necessary. Of course it wasn't phrased like that, but anyone with a brain knew it was just about the limit of what Tamaki was capable off.

Okay that was a bit harsh, but she hadn't forgotten that he had blamed Nagato for the plan's failure. When it was clearly his fault that the Britannian's caught on, before they were clear. Because of him, they had risked their lives for nothing.

And even worse, they had unintentionally caused a genocide of their people!

If it hadn't been for that voice, all of them would have been dead, the most any of them could have hoped for was a heroic death. But all of them had seemingly already forgotten that. They were already talking about doing another operation, now that they had forced a pyrrhic victory on the britannians. Confidence was up, but more importantly, so was rage. Every resistance fighter felt compelled to strike back against the Brits to prove the Japanese weren't taking Shinjuku lying down.

She however wasn't interested in their plans. She cared more about finding out who that voice was than anything else. It had sounded somewhat familiar to her, like It was someone important from her past. But she couldn't place it.

"Agh why do we have to bother with cleaning up this rubble." complained Tamaki despite the fact that Kallen was doing most of the work "This place was a ruin before, so why does it matter?" gesturing at the rubble as if was all the same.

Kallen sighed and told a half truth to pacify him. "Because there are still valuable things buried beneath this rubble and some are still looking for their family members Tamaki. It may be pointless to us, but others will be eternally grateful to find closure."

"I get that, but why don't they just search themselves. We should be more focussed on helping the Japanese's cause, now that everyone is riled up. If we strike now then britannia will fall." He said the last part so confidently, that it almost seemed like he knew what he was talking about.

He however glossed over the fact that there was no organization whatsoever between the factions. So a coordinated strike would be impossible without Kyoto's direct involvement. At best a civil war would erupt and after years of bloody strife britannia might wash their hands of them. Sakuradite made that unlikely though.

No, they needed someone to rally behind or they would be doomed.

Kallen snapped at the idiot's attitude "Tamaki! There are corpses buried beneath this rubble, which will rot and fester. Don't you know that's a serious cause for concern? Everyone living in the ghettos might get sick from the diseases these bodies will spread!"

Tamaki suddenly dropped the jagged piece of concrete he was lifting and backed off a few steps "Hey wait, why are we actually touching them? If they are full of diseases? We might be the ones to get sick!"

Kallen tried to get it through his thick head "They are still fresh, and should be fine for now. But later on, we will have to scrape their remains off the stones. If we don't do it now. We would have to abandon Shinjuku ghetto all together!" She added sarcasticly "Unless you expect the Britannians to come help sanitize this place."

"I guess." agreed Tamaki but Kallen noticed his work pace had slowed even more.

She knew it was wrong, but she wished Tamaki had died instead of Nagato. At least he understood things and tried to work hard to improve them. She knew, he had panicked during their escape. But she didn't blame him for that.

She herself had been nervous and only the adrenaline coursing through her veins stopped her from crumbling into despair. She had watched the massacre with tear-filled eyes and was powerless to stop it.

If she didn't have the Glasgow to at least help out somewhat. She was sure she would have dropped to her knees and just cried endlessly at the horror _she _had caused.

She put that matter to rest and focussed back onto the mysterious voice, thanking her one track mind again. It spoke Japanese but with an accent. Which meant he was probably a foreigner or had fled overseas during the invasion and came back only now. A foreigner was unlikely though, since she hadn't bothered following international events or had any contact with them. So she couldn't have recognized it from there.

She had kept some tabs on the refugees though, and knew they were treated badly by the EU and the Chinese. She had heard some promising news about the work and learn program from the Aegis company. But they only accepted the intelligent ones leaving many others to starve.

If the voice was a former refugee he had probably gone through the Aegis program, graduated and fulfilled the minimum required years in the contract. But the minimum was four years and Japan was conquered five years ago meaning he couldn't have finished the school requirement within one year.

Unless of course he was an adult to begin with, but the voice sounded young, late twenties at best. So he had to have fled during the first invasion.

But it still only gave him six years to complete his schooling. So he either didn't go to college which wasn't likely or was a genius that took advantage of skipping grades. She hoped for the latter, thinking it would be easier to track him down.

Well that was assuming she was right and the voice was a refugee from Japan's first invasion and a kid back then. But she couldn't explain the reason that the voice sounded familiar to her any other way then that she had heard him before the first invasion.

She had still been a small child back then and didn't pay much attention to strangers. But in-between the two invasions she had grown up fast and only her brother had stopped her from fighting in the second invasion.

They had moved back to Britannia in-between and were forced to suffer Britannian high society. But her father had descended back on Japan like a vulture to exploit the sakuradite mines, once the war was over. She felt repulsed every time she thought about the fact that her own father had been an advocate for the second invasion.

He had argued fervently to raze her mother's country to the ground and pick apart its corpse, all to regain his business interests. In response she had joined the resistance as soon as they allowed her in. Though she supposed she should have been a bit more picky back then.

She had blindly followed in her brother's footsteps and joined the same resistance cell. It had made sense at the time to stick to her brother to protect one another. And because of their Britannian looks only Naoto's old friends would vouch for their credibility.

So she supposed even if she had been more discerning. She would have still ended up being stuck with Tamaki.

The only reason why he hadn't been kicked out of the group yet, was because he was good friends with Ohgi. She knew she bitched a lot about corruption in Britannian society. But she couldn't deny there was some on her side as well. But she accepted it. They desperately needed more manpower, even if it was Tamaki.

"Hey Kallen why aren't you back in school while this blows over anyway?" asked Tamaki to make some conversation. He had probably overheard fragments of her arguments with Ohgi. Her screams had probably pierced through the thin door and echoed through the ruined warehouse all the way back to the group.

"I don't want to listen to those stuck up brats arguing about whether or not they can eat something. They are worried about getting fat, while over here people starve to death. If I actually had to listen to what they have to say about Shinjuku right now. I might actually kill somebody!" Being there would feel like she was on the britannian side. The side that had ordered the massacre and felt no guilt over it. She couldn't stand the thought. She refused identifying with them in any shape or form. Even if someone tried to kill her for being britannian right now, she wouldn't regret being here. She had to be on the Japanese's side.

He tried to sympathize with her "I hear ya Kallen those Britannian scumbags are all the same, but you know Ohgi only wants what's best for ya."

"I know, but I just can't stand all the slander over there. It would have been fine if any other noble had founded the school. But out of all of them, it had to be Kewell Soresi the fricking leader of the purist faction. Just stepping foot in that place, feels like I'm becoming tainted and just wrong." Even when a massacre wasn't weighing down on her shoulders.

With a grin Tamaki suggested good-naturedly "We could always try to kill that purist guy, so someone else will take over."

Kallen wanted to hit him for his harebrained scheme, did he think anything through? But she decided to be pleasant because he was trying and she wasn't sure if he was being serious.

"Thanks Tamaki. But the purists will just use that to rile up the masses and the Japanese will suffer even more because of it. I'm not willing to let my petty problems cause them more pain." The thought of innocent Japanese suffering directly because of her was too much too bear.

Tamaki shrugged "Oh well, at least you can get some good Intel from those stuck up nobles."

"Not really that Asprius bitch just snooped through her dad's papers and liked to brag about it in school to look more important. The other brats know better, but the attention she got went to her head. And she spilled things she shouldn't, to keep it."

"Can't you do it again then? if that Asprius girl is so willing. Her dad is still the top general here in Japan, so we might hear something interesting."

She shook her head "Nah can't, I hear she is clamming up tighter than a nun in church. She is petrified she accidentally spilled the beans, which she did." They both grinned at each other for a moment "The government is looking for leaks and she knows she might be brought up on state treason charges; if anyone finds out she told her classmates."

Tamaki jumped to conclusions "Hey can't they trace it back to you then, if they catch the bitch." His eyes widened minutely "Maybe you need to drop out or else we'll have to kill her and dump her body somewhere." He rambled and made frantic gestures to get his point across.

Kallen sighed "Calm down Tamaki, I didn't talk to her directly. I just overheard shit by eating my lunch nearby. If I wanted to know something specific I said it to my other 'friends' to get them curious and have them ask for me."

"Huh but won't your friends know you were overly interested in her dad's work?"

"Yeah but they know I have a lot of academic interests. I posed every question to sound like I was just curious about theoretical stuff and left them to their own devices. They are natural gossip queens and with my status as future countess. They answered questions I didn't even ask to try to score points with me for the future."

"Gotta love gossip queens." chuckled Tamaki, clearly relieved she wasn't going to get arrested anytime soon.

Kallen decided to keep quiet about Tamaki being one himself. Guys didn't like to think of themselves as gossip queens, even if they were.

* * *

**A car cruising down the highway**

Lelouch outwardly held a dispassionate look as he browsed over the information detailing the cybernetics research. But inwardly he was disgusted beyond belief that his older brothers would stoop so low.

The Rosenberg institute founded by Schneizel who carried out the operation classified as code R was monstrous. Though he shouldn't have expected any better considering they wanted to operate in Japan because Clovis could wave all security checks. He didn't shut them down though. Since they were like cancer; he needed to kill them all at once, or it would just resurface elsewhere.

The girl had been sedated before she even woke up in the tunnels. But according to records she would wake up in a few hours despite it being a lethal dose. He still had some trouble believing she was immortal. But after so many eyewitness accounts under his geass, he supposed he had to believe it.

He could solidify it completely by watching the footage of their tests on her immortality. But he feared for his sanity, If he actually watched those.

So for now he was content mulling over possible uses of cybernetics while he waited for the girl to wake up. The main one was giving Nunnally her ability to walk back. But that was pointless to consider, so long as she remained in a coma.

The thought of piloting a knightmare directly from his brain appealed to him though. His hand-eye coordination was crap, but his ability to analyze and react was top-notch. It just didn't translate to knightmare skills thanks to the bottleneck of his athleticism. But the invasive and downright risky surgery needed to do so was too extreme for his tastes. Perhaps if they fine-tuned it...

But he'd already vowed to shut them down. Again, practicality and morality seemed at war with one another.

"We will be there in five minutes Lelouch." announced Viletta from the front seat.

Lelouch nodded from the passenger seat and glanced at the mirror to see his passenger on the backseat. She was unconscious and drooling on the leather interior.

He hoped a nice hotel would be a better place for her to wake up then in the lab. According to the reports she could apparently drive a man insane by a mere touch. So he preferred to keep her calm and be several feet away from her, when she did wake up.

* * *

**Hotel**

Viletta laid the girl down on the bed gently and tucked her in despite not needing to because she was still dressed in her straightjacket.

He had debated whether to take it off, and replace it with some normal clothes but decided against it. The girl may not appreciate being stripped naked, even if it was Viletta doing the stripping.

Worst case scenario, she overlooked Viletta and tried to scramble his brain in a blind rage. He liked his brain a lot, so with the exception of tying her to the bed. He was taking every precaution. Though he couldn't go to far, because he didn't need to antagonize her.

If the witch was immortal and she remained silent even after every possible form of torture known to man. Then the only way to get some answers, was to be nice to her.

He turned on his laptop and fired up his favorite pastime, a highly realistic strategy game with an online multiplayer. It typically took a good hour and a half to complete just one battle, so he was sure he could easily kill some time before she awoke.

He meanwhile had Viletta compile reports about key military personnel in the area, which he would peruse later.

After several victories and one defeat later, that was caused by severely disappointing allies who allowed his enemies to gang up on him, the girl awoke.

She slowly stretched herself and looked around calmly. She didn't seem alarmed in the slightest. So she was either indifferent whether or not she got rescued. Or she already knew she was, because she faked being asleep for a while.

The girl finally spoke "So this is where you take unconscious girls to huh. For some reason I expected you to have better taste." eying the rather bland furniture

A veiled insult that he was a rapist wasn't what he was expecting from her. Unless there was another way to take that implication.

"No I usually drop them off at their home, but I had to make an exception for you." He replied lamely, not knowing what else to say. He certainly wasn't going to deny being a rapist. That would just be playing into her hands.

"Sorry but I normally don't give my address out to strangers." the girl replied with a faint smile.

"Hmm but you do give away bizarre powers to the first random person you meet. You must have really needed to get some fresh air."

The girl smirked "Obviously, i must have been so oxygen deprived that couldn't think straight; if I thought you were a good contractor."

"So I'm a contractor to you then? Might I know your name before we get to explaining what the contract is exactly?"

The girl lounged back onto the bed and stared up at the ceiling. "My name is C.C. "

Lelouch frowned in annoyance. "I asked for a name not your initials"

"I could be named a teapot and you wouldn't know the difference, if I used a different language. What's in a name other than an easy way to point something out."

Lelouch threw his hands up in the air and sighed dramatically "Very well I will call you teapot then." from the corner of his eye he could see her vexation.

With a glare she vehemently replied "I said my name was C.C!" clearly her name mattered more to her than she let on.

Lelouch decided to provoke her some more. "Indeed, but you also said your name was pointless, other than a way to distinguish you from others. If you merely want a label than any label will do, thus teapot is perfectly acceptable."

CC glared at him for a bit before shrugging "Very well, from now on I'm called teapot and you're kettle."

He was surprised at her easy acceptance for a moment before he realized she was trying to turn it around by playing his own game. He was curious if she had the skill to do so. "Why kettle?"

She still didn't look at him and somehow found the ceiling riveting. "Because you didn't tell me your name. So I had to find one myself, thus kettle."

He was a bit disappointed with the simple reasoning and prodded some more. "You explained why you called me kettle, not why you chose it. Oh and I'm Lelouch by the way."

The girl glanced at him before looking at the ceiling again. "Pleasure to meet you Lelouch and kettle was just the first thing that popped into my head. It could have been pink dildo for all I cared."

Lelouch imagined himself standing before a group of soldiers chanting his name with the odd pink dildo thrown in. _Yeah_.. He really wanted to concede this battle, if he planned on keeping her around. "Well I'm grateful you didn't, but lets just call each other CC and Lelouch shall we."

CC sighed theatrically as if it was a great imposition. "if you must ruin my fun, so be it Lelouch."

Lelouch was starting to feel sympathetic towards her interrogators. No wonder they resorted to torture if she could turn the conversation around like that.

In a non sequitur she said "So, do you like the power that I gave you?"

"So it was you." muttered Lelouch as he replayed events in his head with a frown.

"Dissatisfied?"

"Hardly, I'm grateful." said Lelouch leaning back in his chair. "Thanks to you, I can drastically accelerate my schedule."

"Schedule?" questioned C.C, looking at him for the first time uninterrupted by the distracting ceiling.

"My schedule for destroying Britannia." He answered confidently, despite the fact that he was only sitting in a hotel room with a pause screen from a strategy game in the back ground. Not exactly awe-inspiring.

CC's eyes widened minutely in surprise before she scoffed at his arrogant notion. "You think you can do it with just that power?"

Lelouch took her vote of no confidence in stride. "I was planning on doing it without this power and was already well on my way. This just makes things easier." though to be honest he wasn't planning on relying on it overly much. Continual commands were annoying and conditional ones were inconvenient. He'd have to recruit and sway to people to his cause regardless. If he could avoid too many questions marks on how he did things, then it would make things run more smoothly in the long run. There was a limit to how many excuses he could make and there was no way he'd ever tell them he could mind rape them.

He'd explain his geass to people, when Nunnaly decided committing genocide would bring world peace.

CC mumbled to herself "As expected, you are an interesting fellow."

Lelouch ignored that comment because it didn't seem to be aimed at him. He mentally noted that maybe she wasn't as sane as she first appeared, but it was still within acceptable parameters for now. "What will you do now? I control the scientists with my geass. But there are still scraps I Haven't gotten to yet, that will be after you."

CC shrugged, entirely unconcerned "It was only a small faction to begin with, if you control them now. Then I only need to worry about those from the mainland."

"Ah the part that is under Schneizel's control. However I won't make a move on them, until I have procured more power. I don't doubt that Schneizel will make countermeasures against me. If he learns of anything amiss and he won't be taken by surprise like my foolish brother."

C.C. gave him a look that said she knew something he didn't, but he already knew he wasn't going to get it out of her. If she wasn't going to offer it herself.

"I'll just have to make do here then." She suddenly stripped of her clothes and pulled the covers back into place.

Lelouch blushed at the strange sight but blurted out "Oi, what do you think you are doing!"

Pulling the blanket all the way up to her eyes, she coyly replied "A real man should sleep on the floor."

Lelouch was annoyed at her antics but there was an easy way around them. So he didn't care. "No thank you, I'll just rent another hotel room."

CC narrowed her eyes at this revelation "You move around a lot huh?"

Lelouh chuckled "You may be the only person in the world who didn't see my proclamation that brought the empire to its knees on live television."

"Are you really that foolish to goad a superior opponent." asked C.C.

"It was necessary at the time to gain new friends who could shelter me. But as a result, I have several assassins after my neck. Most of them are paid by nobles I wronged, but a rare few belong to the OSI. If I ever stop to smell the roses I will find a dagger in my back before…." He trailed off, still not entirely comfortable comparing scars.

"So you are a workaholic and a nomad. Well at least you're not a hermit. The last one I met was really hard to be around, It was like he never took a shower." CC scrunched up her nose at the memory.

Lelouch mock boasted "I can assure you my hygiene is up to snuff."

"I'll be the judge of that Lelouch." She replied imperiously

"Whatever you say witch." shrugged Lelouch and then turned to Viletta who had been sitting still in the corner like an eerily lifelike statue. "Give me the reports you have finished so far and then go find out what the military knows about the terrorists from the other day. If they have anything substantial, let me know right away so I can bury it, if necessary."

Viletta nodded in agreement and walked towards him to hand over a USB stick with her reports. But when she reached him she leaned over far more than necessary, giving him an unobstructed view down the small hole in the oddly shaped cross on her uniform. He ignored it and just took the USB stick but didn't miss the disappointment on her face. She took her leave with an exaggerated pout.

C.C. cut through the air of awkwardness like it wasn't even there. "So, I see you like surrounding yourself with pretty things Lelouch." her eyes lingering on the door.

The reminder of what he turned Viletta into stabbed into him "Don't make me out to be a womanizer C.C." the thought of what some men would do with his geass was rather repugnant to even imagine. The ultimate date rape drug…

Though it was also somewhat arousing he admitted in the privacy of his own mind.

"Fine, is she your subordinate then?" She conceded "By the way she just agreed to do what you said, I doubt she is just a friend." implying a romance rather than a slave…

Lelouch looked sideways at C.C. in confusion for a minute before it sunk in "You don't know what power you gave me, do you?"

C.C. narrowed her eyes once more in annoyance "I'll admit I was hoping to get it out of you, without admitting as much. But yes it depends on the person what power you get."

Lelouch was intrigued what this said about him and if it was possible to replicate the results. "So, what decides, who gets what kind of power?"

C.C. smiled enigmatically and said "You wish."

Lelouh groaned at C.C. recalcitrant attitude "Fine, don't tell me. But this isn't over."

He got up and started to leave the room but didn't miss the smug smile as he left. That bitch was going to enjoy holding it over his head for as long as possible.


	17. Ask not what Zero can do for you but wha

**Chapter seventeen Ask not what Zero can do for you, but what you can do for Zero. **

**Japan, Hotel, After C.C.'s rescue**

**Leila **

She finally decided on cherry pink lipstick. But after she put it on, she could no longer delay the real dilemma.

Whether or not to dye her hair?

There were plenty of unique colors even among the Japanese, but blond wasn't one of them. It was a decidedly britannian hair color. So it was if not hated, at least disliked.

Seeing as she was on a covert mission, it wasn't exactly the kind of attention she wanted. She couldn't really be a nondescript face in the a crowd. She frankly didn't have the facial features for it, or the cleavage.

She could just go to a barber to dye it. Seeing as it would be a complete nightmare to do it by herself. But perhaps asking Lelouch to do it would be a good bonding moment?

She grabbed her phone and after a little wheedling managed to convince him to come help her.

* * *

Knock, knock…

She answered the door in her white bathrobe complimentary of the hotel. It was tied loosely, giving Lelouch a decent view of her cleavage. But more importantly, it was threatening to come undone altogether at any moment.

Lelouch quickly looked away but couldn't resist a few sideway glances. She smiled encouragingly at him "Thanks for coming"

Lelouch tore away his gaze from her right thigh that was poking out of the slit of her robe. "Yeah no problem. It was an oversight on my part anyway. So you're welcome. " His gaze still flittered all over the place as if it wasn't sure what to look at.

"Hardly" countered Leila "I'm not a child that needs coddling" She crossed her arms underneath her chest and leaned against the doorframe. "I can pull my own weight Lelouch or do you think you need to pre-chew everything I do?" She said playfully to take the sting out of her words while she kept the threatening undertone.

Lelouch recovered immediately now that he was in familiar territory "Off course not. I have the utmost confidence in your abilities Leila. I wouldn't have entrusted my life in your hands if I didn't." The sheer conviction in his voice had even Leila doubting it was an act.

She blinked. She had expected a lie, some hollow words or a evasion. But she couldn't spot any signs of lying . Only his earnest gaze that was unrelenting in its intensity. A smile came unbidden to her face at the thought that she didn't have to prove herself to him. She had been looked down upon by everyone her entire career, due to her age. Except for general Smilas.

Lelouch may have been her age but she hadn't been counting on that working in her favor. If anything, it should have worked against her. She herself looked down on most people her age and only acknowledged geniuses like Anna Clement. It wasn't intentional, just instinctive to gravitate to likeminded individuals.

She tried to come up with a witty remark. "You rehearse that often?" She suddenly giggled at the thought of Lelouch actually prancing around in front of the mirror spouting cheesy lines.

Lelouch just shrugged and grinned back at her. "Practice makes perfect and people call me a perfectionist."

Leila pointedly looked south as she asked "Does that apply to everything you do?" She was laying the innuendo on a bit thick. But she needed to make some headway before he started attracting overly willing fanatical followers.

Lelouch just snorted and stepped beside her in the doorframe, reducing the distance between them to practically nothing. "Naturally" He said with an easy going smile.

Her breath hitched for a moment in anticipation as Lelouch inclined his head towards her. But just as she was about to close her eyes, Lelouch turned away from her and walked into her room.

She just stood there, listening to her own rapidly beating heart. Before she turned around with a slight glare and a pout.

Lelouch just smirked, looking completely unapologetic. Leila strode across the room with purpose while paying close attention to the quickly unraveling knot. Lelouch's eyes nearly bulged out off his skull as he tried to get a glimpse. But just as it fell away, she did a half turn; frustrating him with her covered back.

She leaned over and grabbed a light blue one piece dress. A dress she never had any intentionof wearing. She turned back around slowly while pressing the dress against her body. "Do you think this would help me fit in with the Japanese?"

Lelouch gave it a long critical look before replying "I doubt it. You would look way too ravishing in it."

She smiled and looked down at her dress while making sure to keep it firmly in place, to prevent a peep show. "Hmm oh well, maybe I can still return it?" She asked herself rhetorically while Lelouch stayed silent in his attempt to gain X-ray vision.

She walked towards the bathroom "Follow me." She called out to him as she threw the dress back on the dresser, leaving her front completely uncovered with her robe billowing out behind her.

With a quick jerking motion she flung the bathroom door open. She turned back around quickly but denied Lelouch a glance by wrapping the left side back around her body before grabbing the right side, that she had flung out with her twirl.

Lelouch was scowling at her, and was undoubtedly regretting leaving her hanging now.

"Come on then, my hair isn't going to dye itself." said Leila with a smirk while tugging hard at the freshly knitted knot to make sure it wouldn't come loose unexpected.

Lelouch slowly got up "Are you going to dye everything or just the curtains?"

Leila just stared at him for a moment in shock. Was he seriously asking if he could dye her carpet?

That'd be pretty fucking embarrassing, but also kinda hot. She pictured Lelouch between her legs carefully rubbing in the dye. Hmm that had potential.

"Somebody might see your armpits." Lelouch stared at the dye pack without a blush or a goofy smile. "Chances are low, but still." Leila glared at him, realizing he wasn't backing out. He was either misleading her on purpose and was hoping for her to blurt out something perverted. Or he was just clueless. She didn't know which one was worse.

"Girls shave those, and just my hair and eyebrows should be fine. Unless you have other suggestions?"

His eyes flicked south and fixated on the knot tying her bathrobe together. Before it resumed looking her in the eyes. "Nope."

Coward…

* * *

**A month later**

**Soresi academy **

**Kallen Stadtfelt**

Kallen was inhaling poisonous fumes and was slowly dying on the inside. Well not literally, but if she didn't have such a strong immune system. She was pretty sure something would have rotted away.

"And those stupid elevens are still complaining about getting more of this and that." The blond girl cast her eyes skyward in frustration "They are such spoilt little brats, that my father wishes that the poison gas wiped all of them out." She stabbed her fork rather viciously into an innocent piece of lettuce. Though to be fair the lettuce kept falling off her fork. "So he at least didn't have to listen to their whining!"

The very fact that this came from her so-called 'best friend's mouth' said something about this school. The entire school was full of racists and were taught to be more racist by the teachers no less.

She had sought long and hard for a neutral opinion at least and this was the best she could come up with. Her friend Elizabeth was a racist. But she only complained about stuff that actually affected her, even if it was indirectly.

There were others who complained about everything and even blamed numbers for bad weather. Some even tried to invent and promote new slurs for their amusement, but thankfully they hadn't caught on yet.

She could have ignored that, but the overall culture in the school promoted hate and to be a part of it, you had to hate elevens as well. Kallen was the only one to avoid giving a hate filled speech for conformity's sake, thanks to her many medical absences.

Everyone just assumed she agreed with them over time, despite never hearing her agreeing with them. It was just unthinkable that anyone was actually pro-numbers in this school.

Kallen wanted to just leave and never come back every time a student opened his mouth. But she couldn't because she needed to get an education for her cover's sake.

It was also a requirement from Ohgi who as a former teacher himself, was quite adamant about it. And her stepmother gave her a lot of grief over the fact that she had been held back several times because of her absences. She didn't want to know what would happen, if she actually dropped out.

It might actually be worth it, if she could just escape to the ghettos and become a full-time resistance member rather than just part-time.

Her mandatory daydream to escape her hate filled lunch break was disturbed when someone called her cellphone.

She was instantly wide alert because no one called her at school! Unless it was an emergency. The resistance members knew they could be overheard. So they couldn't say anything sensitive and her other 'friends' were all here.

She excused herself to go to a quiet part of the school to answer the call and ignored the catcalls about her having a boyfriend.

"Hello Q1 its good to know you're alive and well."

She froze as soon as she heard the voice because it was the same one from Shinjuku. She had combed through all the data she could get her hands on, but even her countess status counted for little when the information was classified in a hostile nation.

She had hit an undeniable dead-end and feared she would never hear from the voice again after such a long silence. She hadn't expected him to actually find out her number, because it was supposed to be secret.

Only the resistance members of her cell knew about this number, so others couldn't have referred him this one. And the guys would have given her a heads up before giving out her number to a stranger. Heck this number was registered to her real name meaning that if they did…

She would skin them alive!

But that wasn't important right now "How did you find out about that knightmare shipment?"

The shipment had been brazen with no escort to speak off. But that was precisely why it would have passed unnoticed right through the ghetto. Only those directly involved and the top brass should have known about it.

"A costume change and a polite question. Identification protocols get lax when their blood is up." came the smooth almost smug reply.

That made some sense but it was too vague and could mean anything. She attributed it to trade secrets and moved on though. If she kept hounding one issue then he was likely to just hang up and label her too troublesome to work with. There was an unspoken code among the resistance to never ask more questions than strictly necessary. It helped reduce the damage when someone got arrested.

Besides it begged the question "Did you just waltz right into the G1 like that then? Counting only on their arrogance and stupidity to not get killed?" it was cocky beyond belief and downright reckless even for her. But if he had succeeded then perhaps…

She suppressed a flashback of torn apart corpses and crowds of people running away from knightmares. It had been horrible in every conceivable way. The only silver lining was that recruitment was up all over Japan.

Accounts of the massacre had spread to every eleven within Japan. Despite the media's attempts to spin it. They just lacked the credibility after all the lies and propaganda they had already tried to ram down their throats. They just couldn't compete with a simple word of mouth campaign. And those who knew where to look, could find unaltered footage of the Shinjuku incident. Her own group had also taken to putting up posters with especially provocative images.

As a result every Japanese distrusted the government more than they did before. It wasn't enough to cause a mass revolt because they lacked the organization and a unified purpose. But the smoldering embers were relit after nearly being snuffed out, only waiting on someone to pour more fuel onto the fire to erupt.

The voice sighed on the other end of the line "Sadly there was a rather enthusiastic soldier on the last check point. He kept checking my paperwork thinking there had to be something wrong with it. After the third squinty eyed glare, I decided to cut my losses and escape before he could figure it out."

Kallen didn't fault him on chickening out. Heck she preferred a good dose of caution over reckless bravado. She had enough of that, and knew that without Ohgi to keep her and Tamaki in check, they would have been dead long ago.

But still things didn't add up. Did he even have a plan? "So supposing you did get through, what then? I doubt you could wave a gun in Clovis' face with twenty subordinates stumbling about."

The voice chuckled "Lets just say I found out about a dirty little secret that Clovis was desperate to keep. I planned on using it to force him to call a ceasefire."

So blackmail huh, but what could possibly be bad enough to force him to call off the massacre. The destabilization in the region following an eleven victory, might even have been enough for the Emperor to replace him with someone else.

Being a viceroy was like being a king of your own country and he was answerable only to the Emperor. No noble would give that up for anything, especially not some annoying scandal in the tabloids. Which left only one thing that could scare Clovis, and that was treason…

He was still answerable to the Emperor, so proof of significant defiance could be construed as treason. If one played the media right.

She voiced her suspicions "Does this mean you found proof that you could use to frame him as a traitor to the Empire?"

The voice laughed, which sounded horribly distorted through the voice modifier "Oh not bad for a wild guess. But I won't answer that, I hope you can understand."

She could. If she had dirt on Clovis, she wouldn't let someone else twist the knife in his back without her permission. "Yeah you don't want me messing up your plans. If you tell me and I force him as well, he might rebel or become completely unpredictable which will complicate your plans."

She hoped she was impressing the voice somewhat, because other than checking up on her. He could only be calling to ask for a favor or to recruit her.

She doubted he needed a favor, if he could order the viceroy around. So it was probably recruitment and if so, she wanted a better position than cannon fodder.

"You're full of surprises Q1." said the voice in amusement before switching back to serious "Be at the Tokyo tower tomorrow at 16:00 hours and come alone." then he hung up

She was a bit annoyed that he hung up on her so suddenly. Before she could give a reply, but her actions would dictate her answer rather than her words.

She could respect that on some level. He didn't want empty words, but proof of her resolve through her actions. It wasn't a bad way to sort the true believers from the pretenders who only gave lip service.

* * *

**Tokyo tower**

Kallen arrived at the Tokyo tower with Ohgi and two other resistance members in tow. She had argued against it, but Ohgi had been persistent in coming with. He kept on arguing that Naoto would never forgive him, if he let his little sister go alone to a potentially dangerous meeting.

She had given in after she figured that nobody was expected to actually show up alone when asked. It might annoy the voice, but if it did, it probably also meant he didn't have good intentions for her anyway.

She wore her school uniform to blend in as much as possible among this predominantly Britannian crowd. It screamed that she was a racist like them, so she would receive a warm welcome here and she had a change of clothes in her backpack in case she needed to go somewhere else.

Her followers just wore normal clothes to blend in as well. But their Japanese looks made them stick out like sore thumbs. She guessed this was why the meeting place was taking place here, any back up she may have had couldn't hide here.

But Tokyo tower was probably only the first venue as well, because there was no way they could talk freely in this place.

The intercom turned on and made an announcement "Miss Kallen Stadtfeld of Soresi academy, a lost item has been turned in for you."

She glanced at the clock and read 16:01, so the game of cat and mouse had begun. She signalled her group and made her way to the reception desk

She was a bit distracted thinking about the voice while she accepted the phone. She almost caused the clerk to doubt her claim. After reassuring the girl, she walked away. She faintly heard her friends pay false lip service to Britannia, to avoid suspicion behind her.

The phone rang and when she answered she only got a short order to board a train. She figured as much and grabbed a jacket to wear on top of her school uniform. She dressed herself as she walked towards the station knowing that the others would follow.

* * *

She stood in the designated train wondering when the mystery voice would tell her to get off. She got another call asking her what she saw when she looked left and right.

She figured it was an on the spot test for her ideology, her answer would place her in the political spectrum. She needed to be firm but not too extreme, to avoid being discarded as too _fanatical_._  
_

Her answer pleased him, which brought a grin to her face, because it was her honest answer. She couldn't hesitate to think of an eloquent sounding one, or she risked sounding fake. So she just went with her heart.

She was then ordered to get off in the Saitama ghetto. She was glad she had the forethought to bring a jacket and some slacks to cover up her school uniform to avoid the pint-sized delinquents and the career criminals. Now the reverse applied and she stuck out like a sore thumb and her friends blended in.

She wondered if he was now checking for Britannian friends or if this was just were his hide-out was. She got her answer when she got directions to a warehouse.

"We should walk around it, to scope it out before we enter." proposed Ohgi after catching up with her. There was no point in pretending not knowing each other at this point.

"I agree but I doubt we'll see much, this building seems in better condition than most. There are no large holes and the small ones have been patched up." replied Kallen

"I know but at the very least, it will tell us how many exits there are and if there is someone else nearby we should know about."

Kallen nodded in agreement and walked in a circle with them and kept her eyes open. Eventually they came back around and the only entrance seemed to be right in front of them.

She spotted Ohgi fingering his gun under his jacket but he didn't draw it. She ignored it as just a nervous habit. Calling him on it would only unsettle him more.

She opened the door and slowly stepped inside after checking for obvious traps. The warehouse was dark, there was barely enough light to see where she walked. But she could still make out a figure in the middle of the warehouse sitting behind a desk.

Hmm an uncertain approach and seated in a position of power in the middle of the room. This guy certainly wanted to dominate this conversation.

If he wanted to have the upper hand so much, she would let him, if it meant getting his help in the future. A few annoying personality quirks were well within her margin of tolerance for his skills.

Once she walked halfway towards the middle of the room he called out "That's far enough." No wait this didn't sound like the voice from before, this sounded like a woman?

The lights turned on and sitting behind the desk was a Japanese woman roughly in her early thirties.

"Who are you?" Kallen demanded immediately "You aren't the person I talked to!"

The sudden switch was jarring, but the fact that the guy used Japanese subordinates was reassuring. Especially the fact that a woman was entrusted with recruitment was important to Kallen. Because Ohgi never paid much attention to her opinion during planning sessions.

The voice had complimented her intelligence, but so did Ohgi and he still wrote her off as a snot nosed brat.

"My name is Sayoko, I was sent here by my master to evaluate miss Kallen Stadtfelt."

Kallen felt like correcting her name to Kozuki, but decided to keep quiet for now.

"Why doesn't he meet with us in person!" demanded Ohgi after giving her a sidelong glance when she missed her trademark line.

The woman shrugged "Because my master has several Britannian assassins after him, and he doesn't want to spread his description among uncertain elements. We might disagree on how to do things and part ways. But if you tell others what he looks like, then my master will be forced to leave this country." Sayoko explained monotonously

Kallen could understand that, and the assassins part explained why he hadn't been active in Japan before. He either couldn't risk it until now, or he had to abandon his previous base and fled here to start anew.

If that was the case, she might suddenly catch the eye of some really powerful figures, rather than just the local police. But this was what she had been hoping for, since she became a rebel, the chance to make a difference.

"This guy is really paranoid huh?" said Kent Sugiyama

"I disagree." said Sayoko "My master was planning on robbing that cargo train you used for your victory. But because of your interference he had to abort. He found your radio from the truck wreckage and figured out your radio frequencies from it." She let that sink in for a moment. More than enough time for Kallen to realize that everyone had used each other's first and last name at least once during the battle. The cops would have some trouble piecing it together, but it wouldn't take more than a week at most.

"He then had to use a mole in the military to suppress all the evidence that _would have _led to your capture." explained Sayoko mercilessly, confirming Kallen's suspicions and filling her with immense relief that she wasn't about to get picked up at any moment. She hadn't missed the '_would__'_instead of the '_could__'_.

"They had recordings from honorary britannians of a man named Tamaki Shinichiro bragging in a bar, about how he wiped the floor with the britannians in Shinjuku." Kallen felt like punching Tamaki in the face for his carelessness. And for once Ohgi looked positively livid as well.

Sayoko pointed at Ohgi "From there the police tailed him back to someone called Ohgi Kaname and checked his phone records to figure out the rest of your cell. At which point my master stepped in and erased all records, and bribed the police to forget about it." Everyone was white-faced as the woman just called Ohgi by his full name despite never giving it. Giving credence to the story that they really had almost been arrested.

"He then skimmed through the phone records and thought Kallen Stadtfelt was the most likely suspect for Q1 and decided to recruit her."

"I guess we owe you a debt of gratitude then for saving us." Ohgi said uncertainly while scratching the back of his head.

Kallen too stared at her shoes as she mulled over how close their amateurish group had been to an execution, after finally doing something serious. She had thought they had gotten away after Shinjuku and relaxed, thinking the police could never link it back to her.

The woman waved away their thanks "You owe us nothing, because it was in our best interest to do so. My master was most impressed with miss Stadtfelt's piloting even in a beat up Glasgow."

Kallen felt her spirits lift after hearing that "So I take it you want to recruit us and give us some training to get us up to par." She asked hopefully

"Not exactly, we want to recruit you Kallen. The others are merely optional."

Kallen could see that the others took _optional _to be a euphemism for expendable and couldn't blame them. In their line of work, how valuable you were to your superior officer, directly influenced your chances of survival. As such Ohgi and Naoto had always constantly reassured them, that they were friends and they would stick together no matter what. So to hear the cold word _optional_, was like hearing your suicide order in advance.

"What! Aren't we good enough?" questioned Sugiyama "We drove back the britannians without taking any losses!"

"True." allowed Sayoko "But that was thanks to my master's careful micromanagement. You would be fine, so long as he held your hand every step of the way. But you would need some serious training to stand alone." She basically called them incompetent.

Kallen could see her group turning more resentful against Sayoko and she didn't want to choose between her friends and this chance. "Hey, you said we could all join if we wanted to. So stop antagonizing your new comrades!" Kallen called out loudly.

She wanted to join this new group, more than staying with her old one. So she phrased it like that to calm everyone down.

"You really want to join them Kallen?" asked Ohgi in confirmation

Kallen gave a resolute nod "Yes, we have more of a chance to defeat Britannia with them."

Ohgi backed her up "Very well, if you're in, then so am I." though he didn't sound particularly enthusiastic about it.

Kent Sugiyama however wasn't so willing " I'm not going to join some group who thinks we are expendable pawns. The leader won't even show his face, so I can't trust them."

Sayoko shrugged unconcernedly "There's the door, feel free to use it."

Sugiyama bristled but didn't say anything more and just left. He shut the door with more force then necessary and she could hear his heavy footsteps for a while before they faded.

Yoshida spoke up next " I'm sorry Kallen but I agree with Sugiyama." He then also left but more quietly then Sugiyama despite Ohgi trying to convince him to wait.

Kallen wasn't happy with it, but accepted that not everyone was willing to take the leap. But she could still hang out with them outside of missions. So she hadn't lost their friendship, even if it became strained.

"So what do you want us to do?"

"Well to start, there are two things my master wants to know. Firstly which resistance groups are suitable for recruitment and secondly which companies or britannians are corrupt specifically. You are their victims or have heard of them, so you have a better shot at hearing something than my master. He would prefer not to go through every bank statement of every company registered in area eleven himself."

"I suppose we could ask around but to what point?" replied Kallen hesitantly "Are we going to kill them or something." She held no love for white-collar criminals but murdering them went a bit too far.

"No nothing so brutish. My master intends to blackmail them into funding our operation with fabricated evidence, if they are truly corrupt."

Kallen and Ohgi nodded in agreement with that plan, it was a bit unethical, but they didn't have problems with being a twisted version of robin hood.

But there was a snag that Kallen didn't feel like pointing out, but luckily Ohgi did it for her. "That's good, but other groups won't be anymore eager to join you than Sugiyama and Yoshida if you treat them like that." answered Ohgi referring to the condescension.

Sayoko shrugged "They will come eventually, once they learn of our success." though she seemed slightly uncomfortable judging by how she just crossed her arms and legs.

"So you plan for us to do something else then?" asked Kallen eager to do something useful. Funding and recruitment was great and all but she didn't want to go from one group just talking about doing stuff to another group just talking about doing stuff, but never doing it.

Well, the one time they did do something. It went to hell faster than she could say 'Oh fuck'. it had her doubting herself, and eager to prove to herself that she was cut out to be a true revolutionary.

"For now, you will both go to the countryside during the weekends to train in actual knightmares in a training exercises. My master made friends with a European platoon who came here on his request. They can't join us against Britannia, without a declaration of war between them first. But they are willing to train us, if we keep their identity a secret."

Kallen caught on, they would be training with actual experienced knightmare pilots rather than just moving around in a worn down old Glasgow. She had managed to hold her own with just that. If she could get some actual training, she would undoubtedly kick Britannia's ass the next time around.

The fact that the Europeans had to hide their faces, was a mere triviality compared to the opportunity it presented.

"We'll be there, but what will we be doing during the week?" asked Kallen enthusiastically

"We had been planning on having you sent out feelers to other resistance groups. But if you feel so strongly they won't join us, we will skip that." getting another round of nods in confirmation Sayoko moved on.

She pointed to the crates stacked alongside the warehouse wall. "Those crates are filled with medicine and textbooks written in Japanese. Elevens are barred from hospitals and schools, meaning the Japanese will be happy to receive badly needed supplies. You will be organizing a word of mouth campaign for our eventual debut by helping the local populace. We want the support of the people. So we will help them first, so they may help us later."

Kallen smiled at the logic, it was a bit cold but she couldn't complain about distributing medicine and schoolbooks. Especially after hearing many screams for morphine fall on deaf ears during Shinjuku.

But people needed more than just painkillers. Which begged the question who was going to administer them to prevent overdose or a bad mix? "We need a doctor to prescribe these drugs, or the people might overdose themselves."

Sayoko nodded in agreement "We do, but currently we don't have a doctor on staff which brings me to another part of your mission. While creating goodwill, casually inquire about people's former occupations to find those with useful skill sets.

Japan had one of the most advanced civilizations on the planet. There are many doctors now begging for spare change in the gutter. Offer them a job as part of our support staff. Make It clear they will receive a steady income and won't have to serve at the front line."

This puzzled the two "But don't we need them at the front lines the most, if we are going to fight Britannia" asked Kallen

"We will, but it's better to let them take baby steps of their own volition. My master believes there are more ways to fight Britannia than with just guns. They will be used in different ways, but will contribute to our cause all the same." said Sayoko with supreme confidence.

"If you were fine with people just performing a desk job, why did you scare away Sugiyama and Yoshida?" asked Ohgi in confusion with some repressed anger bubbling underneath.

"To test their resolve and they failed." Sayoko answered immediately without remorse. "We are still building our organization and our European friends will soon leave us, to prevent being noticed by Britannia and cause an international incident.

We will promote within our ranks and we can't bypass seniority easily, even if the skill of the new recruits are better. To prevent ruffled feathers from those who feel passed over, my master wants a dedicated and skilled core group to build the rest of his organization around."

Kallen nodded in agreement with that. She shuddered at the thought of Tamaki being in charge, just because he joined first.

Ohgi was more grimfaced but nodded as well. "Well then, we better get to it then. At least this mission I can agree wholeheartedly with."

Kallen also moved towards the crates to inspect their wares but noticed Sayoko wasn't coming over to help.

"Aren't you going to help us Sayoko?" asked Kallen as she prepared to lift a crate filled with elementary schoolbooks.

Sayoko smiled apologetically "I can't. You may not have noticed yet, but there is bulletproof glass in-between us that spans the width of the warehouse. There is no way for you to reach me and vice versa."

That statement drove home just how much of a disadvantage she had been at, and still was. She literally couldn't even touch her opponent, while she could probably shoot at her through small holes or just set off traps.

A remotely detonated explosive would work well, considering there was bullet proof glass separating them.

Sayoko continued while they were stunned speechless by the revelation "There is a truck outside you can use to move the crates. The keys are still in the ignition and fake driving licenses are in the dashboard along with registration papers in case you get pulled over. There shouldn't be any problems with books and medicine but they may harass you regardless."

"Hey wait, how did you know we would agree to join you?" asked Kallen, it was a bit presumptive of them.

"We didn't. We just prepared fake identifications for your entire group" said Sayoko straight-faced, like it was the most normal thing in the world.

Kallen gulped involuntarily at that, because it was a subtle threat that they could take them all out whenever they wished. Ohgi however missed it "What is our name anyway?"

"The Black knights."

That surprised Kallen a bit because it had no Japanese connotations. Usually resistance groups referred to some part of Japanese culture or took the name itself. The blood of the samurai and the Japanese liberation front were the most well-known examples but there were plenty of smaller variations.

It was an appeal to their nationalistic pride to stand up and fight against their oppressors. To forego that entirely was odd, and she didn't think their new leader was too stupid to overlook it. So that begged the question, what kind of symbolism was he going for?

* * *

**Hotel **

Lelouch hung up his phone after listening to Sayoko's report on how her meeting went with Kallen Stadtfelt. It was within expected parameters, though the news that no other groups would accept him before he produced results was a bit troubling.

He poured himself a glass of milk to calm himself down.

"So I take it that the recruitment didn't go well?" asked Leila from across the room, still looking over reports from her W-0 unit.

Lelouch sat down in his chair and sipped his drink "Sayoko misinterpreted her orders a bit. I told her we needed a lot of skilled members to make a difference here in Japan."

Leila arched an eyebrow in confusion "That's true isn't it?"

"It is, but she interpreted it as 'We need skilled and resolved recruits'. I could have whipped those useless bums into shape, but her elitist attitude scared off the majority of the recruits."

Leila stopped typing for a moment. "I thought you only really wanted the pilot of that red Glasgow?"

Lelouch nodded absently while swirling the milk in his glass "I did, the rest were optional but we need to start building our group at some point."

Leila shrugged as if it didn't matter "Why don't you just use my W-0 unit, it already has trained soldiers willing to execute your orders. They were very impressed with your performance in Shinjuku."

As if he was going to allow himself to become a figure-head while she held the real power. "As capable as your unit is Leila, it isn't big enough to take on Britannia by itself. I want to insert them among the recruits and promote them to officer positions based on merit." isolating them enough to remove them as a threat and exploiting their superior training to raise the general level of the rest.

Leila caught on and used his own argument against him. "Why not just use them as the mould and add new recruits onto them as we go along." effectively guaranteeing the entire command structure would be loyal to her.

Lelouch deflected the sound suggestion with a valid concern. "Because that might cause resentment among the two groups. The W-0 unit will regard the new recruits as amateurs and the recruits will call them deserters. I don't want to divide them over something so petty. Your men are disciplined enough to keep their mouth shut. But.." He trailed off leaving her to fill in the obvious blanks.

"That secret will come back to bite you Lelouch." warned Leila. Hinting that the revelation might cause the regular members to feel betrayed enough to betray him in turn. Leading to either a violent coup or just leaving the group en masse. Either case could be a deathblow to the Black knights.

But Lelouch wasn't going to be bullied into handing her the reigns by mere speculations. "Perhaps, but I'd rather keep any European involvement a secret for now, even if there already is a ready-made excuse." hinting at the possibility that it would be easier to get a pardon if Leila's actions weren't widely known and controversial.

She froze for a moment before she went back to absentmindedly scrolling through the reports. "Do you think the council will change its mind?" asked Leila with genuine worry in her tone.

Lelouch actually hoped they did, but he wasn't willing to tell Leila that. "No, but there is no need to agitate them by broadcasting our connection. If we can pass off as a local terrorists organization it will please them, and will make us more palatable to the Japanese." And trap Leila between a rock and a hard place. Neither willing to betray him, the EU or grab more power. She'd try to please both, so long as it seemed possible and end up pleasing neither. Scratch that, he'd manipulate her into pleasing him.

"I thought it was your intention to drag the EU into a war with Britannia?" poked Leila, not commenting on her rather vague relationship with the EU.

"Perhaps." allowed Lelouch "But if so, I would want it to be on my terms. If I make it obvious, then the EU will blame me and resist any suggestions I have." He said frankly. Lying now wouldn't help him later…

Leila stopped scrolling "Is everyone merely a pawn to you Lelouch?" She looked him intently in the eye, to catch him in a lie.

Lelouch replied smoothly "Off course not, you are a queen in your own right." He wagged his eyebrows a bit to give it a more lustful tone. He really didn't want to linger on this particular subject.

Leila accepted his answer for now, though she didn't seem satisfied. "Yet you call that Kallen girl Q1, instead of me?"

Lelouch apologized with a grin "Sorry, it was a spur of the moment thing. I can call you Q0 if you want?" it was a silly concession to an awkward change of topic.

"That sounds awful" criticized Leila with a smile, continuing the dance. "No I would rather be called Q2 then. Besides it fits your plan better if I'm Q2."

Lelouch didn't see how it did, but he took her word for it. He smiled gently at her "Thank you, Leila." He pulled her closer and kissed her softly on the lips. She returned the kiss and deepened it.


	18. Nationalistic pride is blind Even our c

**Chapter Eighteen Nationalistic pride is blind. Even our criminals are better. **

"**The strong do what they can and the weak suffer what they must." Athenians **

**Hotel, Lelouch **

Lelouch browsed through Viletta's reports on key military personnel. He skipped over most of their service record, since they tended to blend into one another anyway and went straight to her personal comment section. He figured that unless Viletta had something interesting to say about the soldier. He would just ignore him for the time being.

He struck gold on the third report with the curious comment 'He got mad at the female officers in his unit, for allegedly conspiring together to file false claims of sexual assault against another male member of the unit. He dismissed it as a joke by the female officers.'

His eyes bulged as he read that, he had to go back and read it again just to make sure his eyes weren't playing tricks on him. But there it was, an obvious rapist in a unit and sheer ignorance or corruption allowing him to carry on.

He clenched his fist in anger for a moment before he calmed down and skimmed over the other reports. He absentmindedly noted that Viletta interpreted the order 'To include anything noteworthy' to mean 'How they were involved in the cover up of sexual assaults'.

It didn't take long before a horrifying picture emerged. He scribbled the numbers in the margins, and with some quick math he guessed some rough statistics. One in four female soldiers got raped while serving and only one in twenty-five got convicted for it.

It painted in fragments a culture of sexual harassment, hazing, abuse of power and rape. Viletta especially mocked the response of brass by introducing a policy of Zero tolerance; which only gave commanders a reason not to report that rape was a problem in their unit. In fact Viletta even went on a rant that detailed how each victim's commander didn't take them seriously, sided with the perpetrator or retaliated against them for reporting.

Lelouch leaned back in his chair and cast his eyes skyward. He sighed and rubbed his eyes incredulously at this colossal fuck up.

The well-being of these soldiers wouldn't be his concern under normal circumstances. But right now Clovis was only hanging on by a thread. This scandal would tip the scales with the force of a sledgehammer. With the number of nobles serving in the military, his resignation would be a foregone conclusion. Something that Clovis had managed to avoid rather skillfully.

Approval ratings among common britannians had only dropped to 38 percent and nobility was 47. Not exactly stellar, but more than respectable. The media blackout hadn't affected the elevens, but the britannians were all too willing to swallow his excuses. His narrative of rusted gas pipes that fractured during the retrieval of the poison gas was especially inspired. It explained why the district was in ruins and it even fitted with his planned urban renewal slip.

It even made a modicum of sense, if you didn't know that the pipes had been shut off for years.

Clovis had however lived long enough for him to track down all the scientists and his credibility only stood in the way of Cornelia's intervention. Clovis might be an idiot regarding a lot of things, but he understood media. And under his guidance the entire area would be soothed back to sleep, though it wouldn't heal the underlying wounds.

Something he couldn't allow if he wanted to fan the flames of rebellion. And Clovis wasn't likely to take the field again anyway, based on his press releases.

This was perfect to push him out of office. But the best part was that it would completely undermine Cornelia's ability to hit the ground running. If he busted this wide open and turned it into a media scandal, then the reputation and credibility of the military would take a nose dive.

Villetta wrote down that it was actually specifically mentioned several times as a reason to keep quiet. Even the victims didn't want to put the military in a bad light.

Rubbing salt in open wounds however, was a defining trait of any decent general or politician. Lelouch smiled viciously at the thought of how he could undermine Cornelia with this.

She was the poster girl for equality in the army and drew massive support from the feminists. But if this came out, then that support would dry up, unless she did something. The restructuring of the military hierarchy during a military campaign would lower its efficiency and create a lot of confusion.

But if she actually made that argument in the press 'That it was an inopportune time'. They would skin her alive. But if she merely paid lip service and failed to actually deliver. Then numerous soldiers and concerned citizens would get disillusioned with her and become skeptics.

And if he tagged on a line that it was only the natural result of social Darwinism and being in the military… Then outrage would be directed at their own ideology and the Emperor by proxy. Since he was the most prominent supporter of it.

It would probably blow over in a few months, but the niggling doubt in their previously unshakable belief in their country would be worth it. He could build on that, until it blew up into mass protests.

First things first though, he needed a spokeswoman and a poster girl.

Viletta was a good choice for a spokeswoman. She could lead the attack by using her status within the purist party. Perhaps provoke the Elevens by blaming the rapes on 'unclean elements' in the military.

With her reputation and the necessary emphasis, everyone would assume she meant honorary britannians. Thoroughly alienating the Japanese who wanted to integrate peacefully, and enraging and proving the separatist Japanese right.

Well, assuming she could keep it together on camera. The thought of her enacting a live porno shoot in the middle of her interview wasn't that farfetched.

Lelouch's mind drifted to how Viletta would look on her back with her nipples getting pinched by Milly while he fucked her. He knew it should be Leila doing the pinching, but for some reason his mind always defaulted to Milly for girl on girl.

Probably because she made it so easy for him. There wasn't a girl on the student council she hadn't groped.

Anyways, he had an unreliable but effective spokeswoman. Now he just needed a poster girl. Ideally it would be someone with Kallen's background, nobility with a good education and easy on the eyes. Her Stadfelt routine burdened with the trauma of rape would be a guaranteed pity card.

It would be the equivalent of a little white girl getting kidnapped on the ten o'clock news.

But the poster girl would be put under a microscope and he wasn't willing to waste his ace pilot. Putting the mess of trying to get her into the military and spinning a believable rape story aside. Whoever it was going to be, was going to get crucified in the media. Her devotion stemmed from her guilt and she was broken in a specific way that made her such a great follower. He wasn't willing to add another type of guilt to it that might alter the cocktail.

So he'd have to shake the tree and see whatever fell out. He might just geass some of the victims that were unwilling to testify, if push came to shove.

* * *

**Prince Clovis **

Deflect

Deflect, deflect, deflect.

That was the game plan and that was all that was on Clovis's mind. Well it should be, but he couldn't let the deaths of his royal guards go, nor his pet project. Especially his pet project.

But his credibility was shot and the first thing he'd done was to distance himself from the military. From now on general Bartley Asprius had full command of all of area eleven's forces.

May god have mercy on us.

Or at least rein in one man's stupidity.

But his track record wasn't any better, so he shouldn't call the kettle black. No it was better to acknowledge his lack of expertise (never a weakness) in that area. It soothed his opposition a bit, but only a bit.

The blame game in the city development committees was a lot more important anyway. He'd blamed rusty pipes for numerous explosions in the ghetto. And no one was going to call him a liar on national television and still expect to keep his head. So they passed the buck. From subordinate to subordinate or if possible a rival. Those were the most amusing for the press, since it brought up a whole mess of other dirty laundry. But Clovis didn't care, if everyone was deflecting, than he stuck out less. If everyone is to blame, then no one is to blame after all. Or the public was just too undecided on who to be mad at, that it didn't really matter.

It was all relative, and only trust in government took a hit. But what else was new.

But to really get out of this slump he needed a re-branding strategy. He needed to be known for something else. Anything really.

But nothing seemed to pop out at him that could drown out the noise of a massacre. Curing cancer, maybe. But a pipe dream. Cut taxes, popular but fiscally unsound. His father would sack him for that regardless of the massacre. Cut government wages, too lukewarm. Taxpayers would be happy but those affected would protest. Unless he took it out on a minority it wouldn't gain him anything, like say the honorary britannians. But that would just be shooting himself in the foot in the long run.

Charity then, a good old standby. A few picture shoots with a lovable but terminally ill patient, preferably underage, might help. But predictable and overdone.

It wouldn't boost his numbers enough. Though they were still good now, but he wouldn't be able to control the narrative for much longer. When the rumors started trickling in. Then he would be looking at a landslide of disapproval. He'd get crushed, unless he maneuvered himself to a new position where he could weather out the storm. He knew it was possible, corrupt officials had been reelected before despite a media storm centering around them. The crucial part was that the people had to like him and think the accusations were against their country or town rather than him personally. They'd feel offended and only defend him more vigorously. He had to create an us versus them mentality. But the how eluded him, with no clear enemy presenting itself…

Where was the bourbon when he needed it? Heck he'd even drink that yellow piss they call beer right about now. His rummaging through his desk drawers came to a screeching halt when his secretary's voice came blaring over the intercom.

"PRINCE CLOVIS YOU GOTTA SEE THIS. TURN ON CHANNEL FIVE!"

It was so demanding, it was almost a command. It definitely broke decorum but Clovis didn't care. Instead he fumbled for the remote and turned on the telly to watch a press conference from a notable purist faction leader.

He slumped in his seat thinking his secretary was just overreacting to some extremist drivel that was sure to provoke a response from the terrorists. Annoying, but manageable.

That is, until he noticed the captions running in the bottom screen.

'THERE'S NO WAY OUT OF IT. IF YOU THINK ABOUT IT, THE ONLY WAY OUT IS SUICIDE OR AWOL.'

'HE PUT HIS LOCKED AND LOADED .45 AT THE BASE OF MY SKULL.'

'HE SLAMMED MY HEAD AGAINST THE CONCRETE WALL AND VERY FORCEFULLY HAD SEX WITH ME'

'THE TRAGEDY OF THAT IS EVERY ONE OF THESE GUYS WHO GETS OFF FREE WILL BE DOING IT TO OTHER WOMEN AGAIN AND AGAIN, OFTEN FOR YEARS AND YEARS AND YEARS'

'WHEN YOU ARE OVER THERE, YOU ARE LOWER THAN DIRT; YOU ARE EXPENDABLE AS A SOLDIER IN GENERAL, AND AS A WOMAN, IT'S WORSE.'

'DON'T WEAR ANY MAKE-UP BECAUSE THE MARINES WILL THINK THAT YOU WANT TO SLEEP WITH THEM'

Clovis felt like he was having a heart attack. His panic attack eventually subsided though, but the grim picture painted by Viletta Nu was still there.

She wasn't finished however and these were mere excerpts. "It's survival of the fittest and these rapists use sex as weapons for power and control."

Yes just blame the Emperor for rape why don't you,

He pressed the button on the intercom "Miss Springfield please fetch me some ice, water and several bottles of hard liquor."

He soaked up some more undiluted horror that Viletta kept pouring on and categorized it into 'Who's to blame'. To his growing shame, the buck stopped at him more times than he wanted to admit.

It was indirect. But the culture that had allowed this to happen was either created under him or he'd neglected to eradicate it. He was almost hoping this rape epidemic was nationwide and not just regional. At least then, he shared in the blame and the misery.

He wondered if he should prepare his resignation speech or if he could still salvage this somehow. Blame it on his secretary of defense or something, and claim he was uninformed of these travesties.

If he vilified Bartley, then he'd have his scapegoat. He could rally the people against the incompetent fat fuck rather easily. Bartley already had the record for it.

No, pointing the finger would make it too easy to turn the accusation back on him. It would be better to just leak those filed claims of sexual harassment and repeatedly claim he had no knowledge of this.

It wouldn't actually be a lie.

But that combined with his other lies, that could come to light any second, and it could blow up in his face rather easily. Did he really want to limp call this round only to lose the next? Wasn't it better to just fold and keep what dignity he had left?

Clovis sighed and absently thanked miss Springfield for the timely arrival of booze. He didn't waste time and suckled bourbon straight from the bottle. He almost felt like performing the fetal position anyway.

Too bad there wasn't a AA meeting for royals, that didn't end up in the tabloids. Though he somewhat suspected Guinevere did it on purpose to regain the spotlight. He scoffed, old age was quite hard on her, after all.

With a pop he released his bottle and chased it down with some water. He did need to give a press conference tomorrow after all.

Whether it was to resign or not, was still undecided. But he'd have to go on the counteroffensive regardless. Viletta made fun of daddy dearest, and that wasn't something he could let slide.

He'd have to defend the Emperor, whether he wanted to or not.

* * *

**Viletta**

Clovis' speech was about to start and the news anchor was finishing up his intro.

She curled up on her couch with a bag of potato chips, a bowl of grapes and a glass of wine. Perfect for her munchies while she watched prince Clovis go down in flames.

Prince Clovis started with the standard 'Anyone who is found guilty will be punished' theme before segueing into the specific issues. She had to admit that he did a decent job of it, but it was mostly defensive and full of empty promises.

An enquiry would be launched and yada yada yada. Lelouch already had a viral video waiting in the wings to mock the slogan 'We need more research'. Calling it a stall tactic, so they could sweep it under the rug once the public moved on. It also commented on the bureaucratic elegance of organizing a committee to reform, but not giving them any budget to work with. Basically cutting off prince Clovis' next move before he even made it.

She didn't sit up and take notice until prince Clovis started rattling off rape figures in foreign countries. Countries without the blessing of the Holy Empire and those who had since received it.

The bastard was actually making the case that britannians were lowering rape figures. But comparing Japan with South Africa wasn't even on the scale of apples and oranges. It was the moon and a fucking pebble!

They actually had a myth there that claimed having sex with a virgin cured HIV and AIDS! It had the highest number of underage rape victims and one in two women were raped there.

It wasn't even the reviled 'Blame the victim' routine! No it was a brand new, 'Our rapists are better than foreign rapists' routine.

Or was it our rapists have more restraint?

No wait, didn't a politician once say 'Relax and enjoy it'. Hmm, maybe it was done before. They both looked at the bright side of rape. The silver lining as it were was that at least you were the only member of your family to get raped, instead of your sister and mother too. No, it was only reserved for that estranged cousin of yours.

She quickly grabbed some pen and paper and started writing this shit down. She was going to tear prince Clovis a new one. Fuck her loyalty to the crown!

Somewhere deep inside she felt something die a little. But since it felt encaged and weak for as long as she could remember, she just ignored it.

As she jotted down her response she wondered how her master would thank her for her initiative. Maybe a pat on the head, a kiss on the cheek, or perhaps a celebratory spanking.

Ohh that reminded Viletta, didn't feminists frequently strip during protests? Well, at least it seemed that way, since they were the only ones that seemed to make the news. Maybe she could get Lelouch to sign off on her organizing a naked protest?

And perhaps she could sweet-talk him into joining in, for solidarity off course.

* * *

**Europe, Paris **

**Milly **

She had expected a wide variety of requests that Lelouch might ask of her once she fulfilled her dream of becoming a news reporter. But investigating sexual assaults in the Britannian military wasn't one of them.

A candid video where he was manhandled by a naked woman into joining a protest against it, was even more unlikely. Well, the struggle lasted only two minutes.

But the woman immediately stopped once he told her off. And she recognized that grin on his face. It was his 'I'm going to remember this feeling forever' face. He'd had an exact copy of it, the first time she drooped over him from behind. Luckily she had a reflective surface to study it on, or he'd never admit it.

He still refused to without excessive badgering. But now she had proof!

"Hmm I wonder if I have enough pocket-money to print out four hundred posters." She mumbled to herself.

She could make do with a hundred, but that would only cover the university. She also needed to cover the academy and any other places he might hang out. Screw operational security, operation 'Perverted Lelouch' was about to begin.

Right after she did some fact checking and debunking. Even she could admit that nipping pro-rape propaganda in the bud, was marginally more important.

The real question though, was what to give Sayoko in thanks?

Hmm maybe she'd could hire a metal smith and a tailor to create a very risqué ninja ensemble. All that tight leather and uncomfortable straps in all the wrong places. Sayoko would definitely need help taking it off. It was such a shame she couldn't order Sayoko around any more. Lelouch's reaction would have been priceless.

Milly smiled broadly as her black-mail inventory increased once more.

She clicked on an article in the database "I wonder if Leila knows about this?"

She couldn't wait to mail him back her findings.

* * *

**Prince Clovis**

"And therefore I tender my resignation."

That sentence still haunted him, but it also set him free. He no longer had to be concerned with paparazzi dogging his heels or the fate of the numbers. Or even his position in the bid for the next Emperor. He could just put his feet up and sip a coke instead of a bourbon.

For one blessed moment he deluded himself into actually believing that, before reality came crashing down on him again.

Or rather he couldn't ignore the incessant noise coming from outside of the viceroy's palace whenever he walked by a window. It could be mistaken for crickets, but it was actually the sound of thousands of cameras going off.

The numbers hadn't forgotten him anymore than he had them. He was just powerless to help them and all the more likely to be killed by them. There wouldn't be any criminal charges brought against him, but his position had been tarnished nonetheless. He'd never become Emperor now, not that he'd expected to before.

No, resignation hadn't solved his problems. It just stopped the flood of new ones. He'd stepped down just in time to avoid the devilish twisting of his words by Viletta Nu. Instead Kewel Soresi was left standing with the bag of shit this time as interim viceroy.

It felt rather good to be on the other side for once. It was hilarious to see Kewel bluster and sputter a pitiful defense together against his own right hand woman.

Everyone had expected for the dog to go back into her doghouse now that her master was in charge. But instead of sitting in the corner like a good little doggy, she tore her owner's throat out.

Rabid dog Viletta crucified not just him, but honorary britannians as well. Even if it was more like a heavily lidded wink that even a blind man could see. The insinuation that Japanese were more natural rapists didn't sit well with them. And no one missed that connection, after she was done summarizing his speech in her own words.

Britannian rapists are better than foreign rapists.

That phrase alone was political suicide to anyone who'd dare to utter it. And somehow they put it in his mouth! Well, the nobility were inclined to agree but only in private. They'd never come out and say it publicly.

But the elevens assumed as much and it grated on their nerves while they were looked upon as foreign (rapists) in their own country.

It only divided his country more on a rather controversial topic. The more extreme but outspoken fraction of Britannians had already added the slur to their routine. Elevens weren't just stinking monkeys, but rapists as well.

And while stinking monkey was somewhat childish and easily endured. Being called a rapist wasn't, that cut right to the bone and had to be protested at every turn.

So naturally there was a spike in elevens fighting back and escalations ensued. Hundreds of elevens were carted of to the hospitals and even nobles were shipped there by the dozens. Thank god he'd used his executive power to authorize temporary allowance into the hospitals for elevens. Or Kewel would have an army of martyrs to deal with.

Well he still might, since Clovis heard rumors that he was trying to reverse it. Only the respect remaining for prince Clovis stopped him. Truly purist bigotry at its finest.

But there was still one trump card Viletta hadn't played yet. Probably since she couldn't fit it into the same speech where she accused honorary britannians of raping decent upstanding britannians. Namely that those same decent upstanding britannians might be raping elevens!

With the cherry on top being that elevens had no civil rights, and thus no legal protection making it _practically _legal. Yes, rape was legal in the empire, so long as you picked your victims wisely.

He was pretty sure she was gearing up for it though, with the sound bite 'britannians rapists have more restraint than foreign rapists'.

It was too late to push for reforms or bury this in the media. Viletta was too well-known to be silenced through any means and the attempt alone could be worse than just letting it run its course. And quite frankly silencing Viletta was the only way to stop the elevens from rioting in the streets and joining terrorists groups en masse.

He was thankful he had resigned in time or he'd be asked by bloodthirsty reporters 'if he intentionally legalized rape?'. He'd probably still get asked, but he'd might be able to get away with a 'no comment' now.

However, the truth was, that it was a loophole created by ambitious bureaucrats who wanted to draft laws that pleased the Emperor. Giving no rights to the weak for they deserved none seemed to fit the Emperor's ideology.

And there you have it, a license to rape. Shortsightedness, incompetence and a stubborn refusal to admit a mistake were as always the main reasons for governmental failure.

Clovis sighed, the country was slowly becoming more unstable and sliding towards open rebellion or civil war. The mobs were stirred and the loyalty of the army was shaken. And whoever held sway with those two could proclaim himself a dictator.

But it was too neat, too many pieces fell in place just right in this mess. And nothing was coincidental in politics.

The question was as always: who benefits?

It was here where he was drawing a blank. None of the actors in area eleven could fill the vacuum of power that was being created. The average noble had nothing to gain and everything to lose from an agitated populace. And the terrorists didn't have the skill or organization to do this. If they did, then he was sure they'd done it ages ago.

He only had one clue.

He was sure Viletta was bribed by someone, but her ambition wouldn't be sated with mere money. That woman was far too greedy. She wanted peerage. Making her a baroness was the minimum for her to risk treasonous actions. Or at least actions that could be construed as treason.

So that pointed towards someone with enough clout to make that happen. So perhaps a high-ranking noble that wanted to create a problem for him to solve.

The war in Africa was progressing, but at a snail's pace and only Cornelia was earning any victories. The rest was just stalemating and stagnating. Hardly the fast paced movement war nobles dreamed about, and bragged about. There was little glory to be won there, except if you swore loyalty to princess Cornelia.

So it had to be from outside of her camp. A faction intent on fabricating their own glory to derive political power from. It was costly, but if done right they'd come sweeping in and solve all the problems at once in a show of power.

Clever, but hardly original. But still, the question remained who was behind it?

* * *

**Author notes **

**This chapter is inspired and has taken several sentences directly from the documentary The Invisible War.**

**Ps I won't use a rape scene or a sob story to depict the severity of the military rape scandal. It's purely political ammo in this fic so I leave that up to your imagination**.


	19. Chapter 19 New Players Pending

**Arc Six**

**Chapter Nineteen New Players Pending **

**Two months later in the African desert, Britannia****'****s frontline at El Alamein. **

**Princess Cornelia **

Cornelia paused behind a tent and thought to herself if it was really worth it. The sand had been scratching her inner thighs for months and only her strict discipline kept her from chafing.

Sadly, not every soldier got it through their thick head before getting sunstroke or red skin. But even with all possible care, her units were running ragged. They'd settled into a routine and that prevented unnecessary mistakes, but they were getting tunnel vision. Just slogging through the day, wishing for it to end, and to go back home and take a warm bath.

She steeled herself though and hurried on to the command tent before Guildford got worried about her. It had taken long enough to break him out off his stalking habits. She didn't want to encourage him into dogging her every step again.

She entered the command HQ and eyeballed the maps and general atmosphere in the room. Nobody was in a blind panic, so that was something.

Instead, everyone was quiet and was looking anywhere but at her. Which was weird. Even Guilford wasn't looking at her but was eying Darlton instead.

She narrowed her eyes at the inefficiency, the cowardice, the sheer incompetence on display! "What is it Guilford!" She spat out,

Guilford jolted and reluctantly looked at her "There have been reports from the mainland. Due to our radio silence we've missed a lot of crucial events that have undermined prince Clovis's reign and indirectly the Emperor's."

Cornelia sat down in her chair and stared at him. Conveying the silent message 'to get on with it'.

He gulped and swallowed before saying "Do you remember that issue you kept bringing up in private, but kept getting put on hold anonymously in the upper and lower house?"

Unless she suffered an amnesia inducing head trauma that she forgot about, then there was no way she'd forget the suspected rape figures in the army. "Yes, what about it." if those aristocrats and senators came up with another creative way to block her reforms, she was going to start infiltrating the OSI. Assassinating those old farts until she got lucky, had to be easier than convincing them the sky was blue.

"Well, one of their arguments that claimed airing the sensitive issue in the media would destabilize the country, got proven correct." Guilford had sense enough to avoid eye contact while he said the damning words. "A local purist leader in Japan brought up the issue and publicly shamed the prince and his replacement into acting."

His replacement?

Did she just mishear Guilford or did someone leak the number of sexually assaulted nobles in the military?

"Are you serious?" She was more shocked it happened, than angry for him even implying those fuckers were right about anything. A cardinal sin on a normal day.

Guilford nodded and looked to the room for any relief, but none was forthcoming. Paperwork and all that, gotta make the deadline.

"Yes." He confidently replied. "But the spokeswoman didn't stop there. She also blamed the Emperor's ideology for creating the rape culture to begin with and provoked every group living in Japan." He raised his voice "She turned basically everyone against each other, with no exceptions that I can think off. It was then picked up by the European media to fuel their slander campaign and even our media companies are spreading it to all corners of the Empire. Polls are already showing that our own citizens are distrusting their own military." He said with some alarm in his voice.

Darlton finally chimed in now that he'd found his balls in the corner of the room. "There've been numerous reports of our soldiers getting glared at, while normally they'd have been greeted cheerfully as they walked by."

Cornelia pinched the bridge of her nose. She didn't need a Nobel prize-winning expert to know that recruitment numbers would drop this year. And probably the next five years as well. Drastically increasing the average age of the Britannian soldier. And who could forget that the number of soldiers signing on for another tour of duty had already been low to begin with. In short, a manpower shortage seemed likely, even without a costly war to fight.

The fact that the Emperor might have to conscript his civilians, if he wanted to fight either the EU or the Chinese federation would undoubtedly gall him. And it wouldn't be just because they would die by the dozens, without training. It would completely undermine his own ideology where britannians reigned supreme.

"What was Clovis's response?" She prayed her media savvy brother had at least made some headway in sorting out this mess.

Guilford was again fielding this question. By virtue of being the only guy on the field to begin with. Darlton was looking for his balls again. "He started with the standard response and tried to get creative with defending social Darwinism. Initial polls suggested it succeeded, but then that purist leader completely twisted his words to mean and I quote 'Britannian rapists are better than foreign rapists'."

Bloody hell!

Who didn't that offend?

No wonder Clovis resigned, she realized. But then?…

Oh fuck,! The Emperor was probably blaming the scandal on Clovis.

However unfairly.

The problem started in his backyard and he failed to stop it. Though she doubted even Schneizel could have defused the situation. There just wasn't a good defense against accusations of rape other than 'We're sorry and we'll promise to do better'.

The patriotism spiel might have worked! If that bitch hadn't twisted it to 'our rapists are better than foreign rapists'.

She sighed in frustration at how her personal agenda had been used and abused by someone else. Whether it was intentional or not, she was going to pay this purist bitch back.

"What's the response from the mainland?" She looked directly at Darlton.

Whose squeaky voice at being suddenly addressed gave no indication his balls had dropped yet. "It isn- clears throat- good." He responded "The anti royalists have joined the fray and coined the phrase 'Praise be the noble rapists'. In response to Viletta Nu's slogan, mockingly implying that the nobility were the ones raping honest hardworking common Britannians."

Cornelia raised an eyebrow "Viletta?"

"The purist spokeswoman who aired the issue princess" Guilford added quickly. Cornelia nodded and gestured for Darlton to continue.

Darlton continued as if there hadn't been an interjection "Something the evidence unfortunately supports indirectly. Since they were most frequently in command and tried to cover it up, to save face in front of their superiors. The exact proportion of actual 'noble rapists' is unknown. But that isn't stopping the anti royalists from chanting it on the streets. Especially the religious tint some groups have added to it is causing problems."

Religion? What the fuck! How did that have anything to do with rape?

She voiced her question and a technical support officer hastily pulled a video up on the main screen. What she saw was both ludicrous and politically brilliant.

She doubted she'd ever forget the sight of people praying in the streets and thanking the nobility for only raping their cousin. Before they started bickering over who said cousin was. They even had a little black book that was a mockery of the bible. From which they quoted scripture AKA 'social Darwinism' to explain the rapes and why the Emperor worked in mysterious ways.

"I take it the church is offended?" She asked rhetorically. She might as well have asked if a root canal was painful.

Guilford motioned to the techie and a newspaper article of the pope shaking hands with the Emperor appeared. She could practically see the barely restrained aggression and disgust in his fake smile and popping veins near his eyes. Well, she could. But she doubted anyone who didn't stare at his face for most of their life trying to decipher an emotion would have.

"The church lodged a complaint with the official 'Defender of the Faith' who traditionally has been the Emperor. They incessantly nagged him to do something, but a crack down on peaceful protests would only martyr them." Cornelia nodded in understanding before Darlton finished his point. "His inaction however, was alienating the church who stills holds sway over a small fraction of the people."

It might've been only a few percent, but those were still millions. So sway it did hold.

And the Emperor wasn't stupid enough to underestimate religious fervor. Forcing him to commit to a PR campaign to reaffirm relations with the church which took up a lot of his time. What no doubt thoroughly frustrated him, since he openly despised the Ten commandments.

But for the sake of getting the church of his back, he had to shut up and smile at the camera. Cornelia truly sympathized with him on that. She wished she could make it legal to shoot paparazzi on sight and boycott bullshit like this.

"So I suppose this official reaction only validated the anti royalists." She asked the room and she got sullen nods in response. But it was a worthwhile trade-off. Even if it meant that they were never going away quietly anymore. She hadn't been optimistic about that for years anyway, so it wasn't a great loss. It had already spread from a minor movement to a major one and no longer as underground as it used to be.

Despite rumors of OSI agents infiltrating and culling their ranks. If anything, it only seemed to reinvigorate the few who learned of it or suspected it.

If this kept up, then an overthrow or at least a forced succession of the throne seemed likely.

Well, that was over-exaggerating. But the hardships of ruling had definitely increased. Which hadn't gone unnoticed by the Emperor, however detached he was. And it was something he blamed primarily on Clovis.

"Is there any good news that I might use to help Clovis out?"

She got unanimous headshakes in response "More bad news then?" She sighed

"I'm afraid so princess. " began Guilford. " There's also a report he committed a genocide for the sake of a planned urban renewal."

Oh for the love of!

Wasn't Clovis supposed to be good with the media? She was beginning to wonder if all their reputations were inflated. Her title of goddess of victory rang a bit false, with the number of casualties she'd suffered. Even if, she was the only one winning battles.

But at least her recent discovery of those buried pipelines was going to save lives in the future, she consoled herself. The number of missing patrols had risen to unacceptable levels.

So much so, that many generals had opted to forego them all together. Leaving them blind and open to numerous flanking attempts by the desperate Africans.

She had discharges those idiots dishonorably. But she couldn't deny the frustration and sheer helplessness she felt every time her men didn't come back. Or the dread building in her stomach and guilt when she looked at the names and faces she was sending out to die.

She had done it regardless, and hammered home her motto 'War was a fight between pride and life'. Her soldiers did their duty or died trying and it won them the day, even if it was a harsh rule. They respected her for the number of soldiers it did save.

"Set up a communication with Pendragon. I need to apply for temporary leave."

And just as it was their duty to help her. It was hers to help Clovis, for all the help he gave her in the past. Besides sisterly affection of course.

She wasn't sure how, but she was going to help him somehow.

She wasn't going to fail another brother, because she was too distracted with her own problems.

She mumbled softly "I'm sorry Lelouch." which mercifully went unheard by the other occupants of the room.

She remembered as always her last memory of him. The rage filled face that was casually condemning a whole people for his petty grievances. But she didn't hate him. She never could, and wouldn't speak a bad word about him even now.

Even if she suspected he was the one to have planted those pipes to begin with. The same pipes that killed thousands of her men, including Claudio Darlton. A good personal friend of hers.

* * *

**Four months later in Japan **

**Kirihara estate, meeting place of the Six houses of Kyoto**

Kaguya Sumeragi was listening half-heartedly to old men. That these old men were her esteemed colleagues in the Six houses didn't make listening to them anymore interesting. Especially since they had been recycling their arguments for the last two hours.

At this point she was willing to flip a coin to decide the matter.

"The difference between the Sutherland and Glasgow isn't a gap that can't be bridged. True the Sutherland is designed as a anti knightmare weapon but its additional costs make it cost ineffective for its projected firepower." argued Taizou Kirihara

Another argued back "That may be so, but we need to give our skilful pilots every edge they can get to survive. The decisive factor in this war won't be how many knightmares we can field. But how many skilful pilots we can gather. If we sent them to the slaughter in inferior frames, then there will be no hope of victory in the long run."

Kaguya could understand the perspectives of both sides, and was willing to contribute more funds in order to purchase the Sutherlands. With Britannia lagging behind in their own replacement of the Glasgow by the Sutherland. They could achieve tactical superiority, if they acted faster.

But they still kept arguing about it.

Other than proposing to shoulder the full costs, there wasn't anything she could do anymore in this discussion. As a legacy she didn't merit enough respect to sway them.

But in all likelihood even if she did give the JLF the technological advantage. They would waste it anyway. The JLF hadn't fought a pitched battle with the Britannians in two years.

Tohdoh had been brilliant in his coastal defense, sinking dozens of carrier ships before they could unload their knightmares. And Kyoto had bought every knightmare and coastal defense system they could from the EU.

But they still lost…

Tohdoh could beat or draw with princess Cornelia, but he lost every time against prince Schneizel. And eventually they lost. When they couldn't replace fallen knightmares because of the naval blockade created by prince Schneizel.

Her fellow houses still had faith in Tohdoh and the JLF, but she wasn't so confident. Tohdoh hardly ever ventured out of his fort in Narita anymore. She took that as a clear sign he couldn't win anymore and was just biding his time for a chance. But that was only going to come from an outside source and there was no telling when that might happen, and thus her money was going to be wasted to buy him brand new Sutherlands.

So instead of arguing with stubborn old men, she was contemplating a new movement that had started six months ago. The Black Knights had dedicated themselves solely to humanitarian efforts rather than any military activities and as such had gone unnoticed by her until now.

As much as she appreciated their efforts for her people. She couldn't dispute the hard logic that it was easier to rile up a deprived people than one supplied with all their creature comforts.

She had sent out some feelers to determine it wasn't a scheme by a clever Britannian noble to permanently silence the resistance. So far they had come back empty-handed. All her agents hit a dead-end called Sayoko.

They were sure of only two things. Sayoko had special training to lose them and that she called someone master.

She had been willing to let the matter rest if the leader had been Japanese, but this unknown master bugged her. She knew plenty of Japanese now called Britannian nobles their master. They were essentially hired thugs just trying to get by, even if it hurt other Japanese.

She feared this Sayoko was one of those, but she doubted it. There weren't many nobles willing to spend this much of their fortune buying goodwill with the Japanese. They preferred to just flex their muscle a bit if they needed something.

She also doubted it was a noble starting up a criminal organization because they were recruiting the wrong kind of people for that. Her agents had reported the Black Knights had set up an underground economy that spanned all of Japan. Where Japanese could practice the trade they had learned before the invasion.

As a result they earned a lot of goodwill and loyalty, but also earned money through taxes gathered by the Black Knights. The police had tried to crack down on it, but were ineffective. Because no one wanted to rat out the only way they could realistically get on their feet.

It divided her support by luring away those who weren't convinced liberation was the only way to regain their way of life. Those who just wanted to live in peace flocked to the Black Knights. They were a symbol of a better life for the Japanese and she needed to associate the Six houses of Kyoto with them. They needed to be two sides of the same coin rather than rivals competing for influence with the Japanese.

She needed to get in contact with their leader and negotiate an alliance if he was really trying to help Japan. The Black Knights may never help her in taking back her country. But they would be invaluable in helping her rebuild it.

* * *

**Black Knights' headquarters in Tokyo **

Kallen wracked her brain for the hundredth time to figure out a balance sheet sent in by one of the Black Knights' subsidiaries. She was going to reprimand their accountant and put in a request to have him replaced. He was either skimming of the top or blatantly incompetent.

But even the thought of verbally abusing him didn't brighten her day as she slugged through the swamp he called a ledger.

Still, it was an improvement. She wasn't talking about what needed to be better, but actually doing something about it. She now had concrete numbers to tell her how many people she helped, rather than vague promises and ideals. It was a balm for her soul and she went to bed thinking about those numbers every night.

But the nitty-gritty of running a non-profit business was stressing her out. She didn't have a college education or even a high school diploma. She had to learn accounting principles on the fly, but she still she drew a blank half of the time. Luckily the voice gently coached her through most of it. But her brain still felt fried at the end of the day. ( Sometimes before she even got started, but she powered through it)

She yearned for the weekend, where she could run military drills and practice in her Glasgow. Fighting in the mud with three enemy soldiers was great stress relief.

But she couldn't complain. The lion's share of the work was being sent to the voice who got it done so fast, that it was like magic. She would have thought there was another secret team working on it. If she hadn't been part of many conference calls where he just sorted through it while on the phone.

That man could juggle an insane amount of information at once and never seemed to tire of it. It spoke volumes for his organizational skills, which would come in handy for the second part of the plan.

That is, if they ever got to the second part...

Kallen sometimes wondered if the voice had gotten cold feet or was just being really cautious. With but a few mouse clicks, she could call up list after list of people who joined the Black Knights and what kind of skills they had. She honestly thought they were ready and had plenty of manpower and resources to start their fight.

They had started out small with just her and Ohgi. But everywhere they went, they left dozens of people with a smile on their face. Thanks to that, a lot of people came up to them asking how they could help out. And it was beyond easy, to offer them a permanent job helping their own people.

They were all desperate for a job to support their families and she had to make difficult decisions by turning them down. Even the Black Knights didn't have limitless funds and they couldn't get bloated with useless members.

It was one thing to preach the philosophy of a lean organization of talented and dedicated members. But denying an emaciated man with a starving family behind him was something else entirely.

It tore at her heart every time she had to let them down easy. And she often performed some small favor for them to ease her guilt.

Over time, Kallen didn't even need to go out herself and just ordered her subordinates to do it for her. Her old friends had joined her as well, seeking gainful employment after she explained that it had been just a test.

They still weren't sure about all of it. But they didn't object to a pay check doing normal work. From them she had heard that almost everyone was enthusiastic and hopeful and some were even willing to do more.

She had told them to refer them to her, so she could recruit them for the military arm of the Black Knights.

The military arm was still in its infancy stages and probably the reason why they hadn't made a move yet. But they were being trained hard by the Europeans and even though the Euros never took their masks off, they were well liked by everyone.

They spoke decent Japanese and were willing to try out Japanese culture when offered. She was gonna miss those guys when they were gone, despite the creepy masks they insisted on wearing. Which was probably soon since she had noticed the group shrinking over time. She figured their leaves of absence were running out, and they had to go back to Europe to report for duty.

Speaking of duty she had better get back to figuring out the balance sheet. She needed to sent her report to the voice before the day was out.

She heard footsteps coming through the hallway and wondered if it was Ohgi coming to check up on her.

She tensed a bit in preparation for a lecture about working too hard when it was indeed Ohgi, who barged through her door.

His happy grin confused her as he held something up in his hands. "Hey Kallen you wouldn't believe what we just got!"

"A brand new shipment of Sutherlands?" said Kallen hopefully, now that a lecture didn't seem likely.

"Ahm no, we didn't. But we got something better. We just received a letter from Kyoto saying they want to meet with our leader." Ohgi held said letter in front of her face. So she could get a good look at their seal on the envelope.

Kallen smiled and stretched out her sore body in her chair "So they are finally acknowledging us huh." They hadn't done anything publicly, but the amount of good they did for the Japanese was undeniable.

"Yeah." Ohgi fist pumped into the air and cheered "We are definitely in the big leagues now!"

Kallen thought it over and frowned though.

"What's wrong? " asked Ohgi at her sudden one-eighty.

"They want to talk to our leader right?" She gave Ohgi a questioning glance to which he nodded "But he hasn't shown his face so far, even to us. And I doubt they would accept Sayoko."

Most of their orders came directly from the voice after the initial meeting. But they still hadn't seen hide nor hair from him. She had gotten used to it over time and accepted that he wouldn't risk his face, if assassins were after him.

It left a bad taste in her mouth but she knew honorary britanians had stooped to doing dirty work for nobles. So if any of her recruits turned out to be an assassin in disguise and killed him, she would never forgive herself.

Ohgi's shoulders slumped "Yeah that might be a problem. But I think he would meet with Kyoto of all people. There aren't more dedicated people to Japan than them."

"I guess." said Kallen unconvinced. One only needed to skim through her computer to know they didn't need any funding or knightmares. Kyoto's help wasn't needed. If anything, they could perform the same function as Kyoto if they wanted to.

She had access to millions as her petty cash reserve and billions if she filled out the request forms in triplicate. And knightmares were delivered weekly from the voice's supplier in random warehouses. So what use was Kyoto to the Black Knights?


	20. Attaching strings to a puppet

**Chapter Twenty Attaching strings to a puppet **

**In the vicinity of mount Fuji **

Lelouch scratched his chin absent-mindedly, still unnerved by the weird plastics on his skin. It was uncomfortable but unfortunately necessary. He needed to be here in person to sway Kyoto. But more importantly he couldn't micromanage everything with a phone and he wasn't going to let Leila control the Black knights indirectly through her W-0 unit.

She hadn't shown her face yet. She was still too hesitant with the thought of a possible pardon, if she wasn't infamous, hanging over her head. But eventually she'd realize it was futile and carve out more influence over the Black Knights.

She still had a head start with the guaranteed loyalty of the W-0 unit but he'd compensate by giving them a near non stop victory high. But it was still going to be difficult tying their loyalty to a faceless leader who could be anyone. Even worse, if he was a 'lead from behind' kind of leader. So with the chances of disguised spies or just plain gossip leaking his identity and drawing the knights of the rounds to him. He'd had to settle for a synthetic mask courtesy of Sayoko.

He'd thought about appearing as a handsome man who seemed like the perfect savior. But decided against it, feeling it would cause too much resentment and deflection of responsibility. By looking like a common looking man they'd hopefully feel that if he could do it, then so could they.

Hopefully that'd equalize the advantage Leila's rack had on the average male. He also prayed Kirihara wasn't going to be his main contact with Kyoto. He still remembered finding his porn stash when he stayed at the shrine for a three-day meeting. For all his vitriol against britannians he certainly didn't have anything against their fairer sex showing off their assets.

It was a good thing the traditional man wasn't spouting family values or he'd never trust the hypocrite. So as a safety measure he had ordered Leila to stay behind. Using the excuse that he didn't want to tip his hand about his European roots anymore than he had to.

He picked up a car driving up to them through the fog and turned his head to the side. He took in his companions who still hadn't stopped staring at him ever since he had revealed himself as the voice.

Other than Sayoko who he needed to vouch for him. He only had Kallen, Ohgi , Akito and C.C. with him. It was a risk bringing his two most valuable pilots with him. But he wanted their presence in case he needed to fight his way out of there.

He was sure he could geass any foot soldiers. But he was powerless against knightmares unless he had a knightmare on his side. For this reason he had sent C.C. and Akito under cover to hijack two knightmares.

He would have preferred sending Sayoko instead of Akito. But she was quite hopeless in a knightmare. Her martial arts skill just didn't translate because she never used a computer more than she absolutely had to. It was like teaching an elderly person how to use word.

He would have preferred sending Kallen as well. But she was too observant to not notice the oddities caused by his geass. Luckily Akito was uncaring of everything other than a chance to kill britannians. Lelouch also didn't have to worry he would tell anyone since Akito rarely talked unless required. He was good, so long as Leila didn't want a highly detailed mission report, which she shouldn't unless things went FUBAR.

Which was doubtful since he recognized the plate numbers of the car. It was registered to a gardener at the Sumeragi estate. But the car was too expensive for him. So he was obviously a rathole for Kaguya to hide some assets she didn't want directly linked to her. Like say a limo giving a ride to a bunch of terrorists.

He smiled at the thought of finally meeting Kaguya again and reaping the rewards of a strategy he played years ago. This was shaping up to be a good day. The only downside was that Kallen and Ohgi couldn't stop staring at him. Kallen he could accept, but Ohgi was just creeping him out.

* * *

After a long drive in the limo they were escorted by armed guards to an elevator that brought them up into a secret room. The first thing he noticed was the sight of mount Fuji and it's sakuradite mines which was a subtle display of power and wealth to humble him.

The muttered words from Ohgi about 'How no eleven was allowed anywhere near this place' showed it was effective.

"So you are the mysterious voice I keep hearing so much about." welcomed Kaguya from behind him

Lelouch turned to gaze upon a box with cloth strips to obscure the person behind it. But by merely speaking that person had already revealed that card and made it pointless.

And she would know it as soon as he revealed his identity. Feeling slightly mischievous he decided to try to put her off-balance a bit.

His voice boomed through the room unaided by voice modifiers. "Indeed, and it is good to hear your voice again Kaguya."

He could tell Kaguya was shocked and her guards instantly tensed and leveled their guns at him.

"All those who know the identity of Kyoto must die" They proclaimed loudly

Lelouch was tempted to geass them, but C.C. and Akito's interference would be better if his hunch proved to be wrong. But before the knightmares could make their move, Kaguya called out "Stop! hold your fire."

Lelouch smiled. As expected, Kaguya was willing to indulge in her curiosity, so long as she held the upper hand. He too gave a subtle signal for his men to stand down.

"That is awfully kind off you Kaguya, for a moment there I feared I was a goner" joked Lelouch. Despite seeing the guards still gripping their weapons nervously.

A hand poked out and pushed aside the cloth strips, she was trying to get a better look at him "Do you know me?" The hand quickly darted back in, as if suddenly reminded by someone that he could've been bluffing. And by pushing aside the cloth strips he could sneak a peek at her as well.

He couldn't answer her directly with Kallen and Oghi in the room. So he used a riddle. "Once upon a time we used to discuss fashion shows in Milan and Britannian knightmare stocks."

He could hear a faint gasp "Could it be?" She mumbled to herself "Is it really you…Le"

Lelouch cut her off before she could say his name "I have returned to change everything." He added a dramatic bow and remained in a kneeling position. As if he would serve at her pleasure.

Kaguya started laughing at that, Lelouch glanced at his men and noticed they were uncomfortable with Kyoto laughing in their face.

"Just one question then, to confirm who you really are. When Suzaku asked you if you were a liar what did you say?"

His smile broadened now that he knew Kaguya wasn't going to demand to see his real face underneath the mask. He could have shown just her, but that might have alienated Kallen and Ohgi. "I neither denied it, nor confirmed it. But just distracted him by accusing his father of being a liar."

The cloth strips were fully pushed aside and revealed Kaguya as she climbed out. Lelouch had to admit she really filled out in the last couple of years. She was still flat as a plank, but her feminine curves were clearly visible nonetheless. Her long shiny black hair framing her beautiful face looked especially alluring "So it really is you. Though I must say, I didn't expect you to exchange your black colors for yellow." by hinting at the slur given to Asians she pointed out his mask.

Lelouch pinched his face clearly showing it was plastic "Ah this is but a mask to keep my identity hidden and to prevent any happy trigger fingers." He gave a pointed look to her guards. Who were looking sheepish at the weird direction the conversation was going. He made a mental note though to make Kallen and Ohgi swear to keep quiet about his mask.

Kaguya just smiled all the brighter "True if anyone saw your face now, you would be hard-pressed not to find someone willing to kill you." She made a show of contemplating it.

Lelouch saw his men tense again at that and had to head it off. Sayoko had already slipped a kunai down her sleeve. "Kaguya don't joke around like that in front of my men. You make it sound like I did something horrible."

Kaguya gazed sternly at him "You did do something horrible." There was a tense silence before she broke out into a grin "But not to Japan. I think quite a few britannians still curse your name under their breath. And even more would, if they found out you were still alive."

With that elaboration his men relaxed significantly, it was a good thing he hadn't taken some of his more volatile members. He also silently thanked Kaguya for unknowingly confirming his earlier reason for not showing his face.

"We can reminisce about the good old times later Kaguya." said Lelouch hoping to prevent anymore clues that Ohgi and Kallen might use to figure out his identity.

"Very well, I called you here to find out your identity and your intentions for Japan. Now that I know who you are, I can fully support you without any hesitation." Kaguya freely admitted as if it was a no-brainer to reveal all her cards, now that he told her who he was.

It made him slightly hesitant to ally himself with someone so careless and happy go lucky. He wondered if he misjudged her in his youth, when he thought her an equal. But he didn't need to cooperate with her for long and it would be useful if he wanted to control Kyoto through a puppet. "I humbly accept your support and will strife to be worthy of it."

Kaguya giggled behind her right sleeve "If your performance from back then is any indication, you will have us out from under Britannia within a year. What happened to you anyways? I thought I would have seen you sooner if you had survived?"

"I'm sorry. But I didn't feel like returning for a long time because of traumatic events during the first invasion." apologized Lelouch, thankful the plastic mask didn't reveal minor facial twitches.

Kaguya grimaced before regaining a faint smile. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to pry. Anyways it's good to see you now, even if you are in disguise. "

Lelouch decided that the pleasantries had been observed so moved on "Thank you Kaguya and maybe you can finally teach me how to play shogi. But first I would like for you to help me set up a smuggling route into the concessions."

Kaguya raised an eyebrow "Oh from my understanding you have enough funds and supplies for your little humanitarian venture. I figured you already had a connection in and out of the concessions. " She paused for a second "Are you proceeding to the next part of your plan?"

"I am." He confirmed "I have a overseas contact that is willing to ship me 4 knightmares a week that I've been storing for the last six months." Lelouch briefly wondered if he was talking about himself in the third person or Ruben. Hmm…Ruben…Yeah definitely Ruben. The other sounded slightly insane.

Kaguya whistled "So you're currently in possession of a hundred knightmares, that pretty much makes me obsolete huh." She laughed with real mirth. No doubt enjoying the novel experience of not having to listen to people beg her for more knightmares in exchange for flimsy promises.

He played to her bruised ego. As a legacy she was most likely smothered by the more experienced members. "Hardly, your word carries a lot of weight in Japan and you have connections with every major resistance group in the country. I want to get in touch with the JLF."

"Oh you want to say hi to Tohdoh then?" her eyes glinted as if she knew he was going to try to recruit him "Though you should know he won't be as welcoming as me." She rubbed her chin in contemplation "He never liked you much for some reason."

The feeling was mutual and Tohdoh didn't have to wait by the phone for a invitation from him. Leila could fulfill any role he might designate to him and he only needed one general with questionable loyalties.

Lelouch shrugged and freely admitted "I may have rubbed him the wrong way when I kept beating him at chess and goaded him into playing more matches."

"I think it has more to do with you calling his gundam figurines, dolls, and saying only little girls should play with dolls!" giggled Kaguya

Actually he had merely argued that only Nunnaly had a right to them. But tomato tomahto. "Well, at least I hope his unhealthy obsessions with gundams has refocused on knightmares by now. But I hope you can see why you can't tell him about who I am and just keep it between you and me." Tohdoh'd be suspicious of him every step of the way at best and actively work against him at worst. And his word carried more weight than Kaguya's at the moment.

"Sure it's a promise between the two of us. " Kaguya agreed pleasantly without hesitation, though he could see she was confused with his disinterest in Tohdoh "But what do you intend to do with the JLF?"

Lelouch said "After the Shinjuku massacre there was a internal investigation on how some 'No name' terrorist group managed to steal one of its top secret projects. The findings were inconclusive, but general Bartley was blamed leading to his disgrace."

Kallen decided to pipe in "I haven't told you this before, but we got the Intel from his gossiping daughter."

Lelouch blinked in surprise at the unexpected addition. Kallen and Ohgi had been awed into silence for so long that he'd forgotten about them for a moment. "Oh, then I suppose they railroaded the right guy for once." he blurted out before he regained his composure.

Thrown of track he accidentally skipped ahead "Anyways, the shit-storm of the rape scandal has settled down with Cornelia's reforms and has made her the favored royal in the public's eye. The Emperor cannot refuse her without a valid reason without undermining his image. She knows this, and will ask for only one thing. The viceroy ship of Japan." he paused for the gasps of his own subordinates and Kaguya to die down. "She was close to prince Clovis and Schneizel in her youth and that evolved in an alliance nicknamed the triumvirate."

A nickname that implied three equals, something that Clovis was obviously not. It was a subtle insult that few picked up on. Despite the propaganda posters with Clovis literally riding Schneizel's coattails. A crying baby Clovis clutching the overly long white cape Schneizel dragged behind him was anything but subtle.

Lelouch suppressed a chuckle at the memory and continued "Unless the Emperor comes up with a new offensive in the African theatre he will have no choice but to grant her wish."

"But he's the Emperor." countered one of the guards as if that said it all.

Lelouch explained with relish the frailty of his father's position, while keeping his eyes on Kaguya. "The foreign press would be frothing at the mouth at the possible implications of his incomprehensible decision if he denied her. From questioning his judgment to speculating a grudge against Cornelia herself. Regardless of that, it sets a bad precedent with the other nobles. It wakes them up from the pleasant slumber of social Darwinism where everything is right in the world. If even a royal isn't rewarded for meritorious services than what chance does a normal noble have? Do the strong really prosper?"

In short, evidence that falsified his entire ideology shown on national television.

"So the goddess of victory is coming here to root us out once and for all, and you want to join hands with the JLF to stop her?" asked Kaguya in interest, still staying upbeat despite the bleak news.

He snorted "Hardly, the JLF are outdated and won't listen to a word I say. I have a interest in arming them with the knightmares I smuggled into the country. I intend to take to the field myself, but I lack the manpower to do so for now. I might as well put my equipment to better use somewhere else in the mean time."

Kaguya nodded "In that case you might as well sell them to me and I will give them to the JLF at a later date. It amounts to the same thing and you won't have to risk Tohdoh getting revenge on you."

Lelouch smirked at the joke "it would, but I fully expect them to lose regardless. So I want the remnants to know of a alternative to run to when that day comes."

She stared at him for a moment "You're the same as ever huh? You always have your eye on some far off goal in the future." she commented, taking his manipulation of the greatest hope the Japanese had for a free Japan in stride. She didn't seem bothered by it at all.

"And you wouldn't have me any other way." chuckled Lelouch

"True enough." agreed Kaguya "I'll arrange a meeting with the JLF for you, but I can't make any promises for your reception. Oh and I'll warn you that Kyoto is planning on giving them a brand new shipment of Sutherlands. "

Lelouch nodded and mentally noted to remember to ask Ruben how many they bought to get a more accurate force projection in Japan.

"Do they know of it?" wondered Lelouch, if they did then they wouldn't be as welcoming to him.

"Not yet, we are still discussing it. I'm sure it will happen soon. But we haven't told them yet, so they don't complain about us being tardy." her face twisted into a frown for a second at the notion of her being called tardy.

Lelouch saw an opening "You'd think they'd be a bit more understanding considering they haven't delivered any results in the last two years. You are practically paying them to laze about and do nothing."

Kaguya laughed again "Indeed, but they are still the best hope Japan has. I am hoping you will change that."

Lelouch smiled at her over the top endorsement. One glance at Kallen and Ohgi and he knew that the rest of the black knights would know by nightfall, of the unwavering trust Kyoto had in him.

* * *

**Mount Fuji **

**The Sumeragi house****'****s private quarters. **

Kaguya knew she had laid it on thick, but she really wanted to bind Lelouch to Japan. If she had to butter him up to do so, then it was a small price to pay.

But words were cheap and she knew Lelouch's end goal was to destroy Britannia, not liberate Japan. Right now Japan was merely a stepping stone in his overall ambition. He probably intended to create a powerbase here.

But she knew intentions could change. So she just had to keep reminding him about all the fun times he had in Japan. Back when they were kids she had visited often, despite not getting along with Suzaku for the sole purpose of entertaining Lelouch.

She had foolishly believed that Lelouch would be returned to Britannia before the war started. She had actually thought that family still meant something to the Emperor and that Lelouch would one day hold a position of power. She had hoped that if they did lose against Britannia that she could at least rely on him to make things bearable.

But he had been more than she had expected. It had been subtle and vague. but she recognized him trying to build an alliance with her and hint at his own plans against Britannia. She hadn't followed what he was planning. But she understood enough to know she had found a true ally.

At the time it was merely preparation for the future for when she had to play the adult's game herself. Suzaku foolishly ignored it and just had faith in his country's invincibility. That faith had been easily broken and he had made a reckless move in desperation to save the people. It was his beliefs that damned the Japanese to slavery, but she didn't blame him. He had done what he thought was right and she could respect that.

She too had thought that Britannia's toys wouldn't be as effective as propagandized. She had been drawn in by the convincing speeches of generals praising conventional weaponry.

But the invasion had been a rude awakening for her and her country. She had forced her parents (by nagging incessantly) to try and rescue Lelouch before Japan's only hope was killed by Japan itself.

By then she no longer thought the Emperor cared about his son. But she knew the commoners did, thanks to Empress Marianne. The Vi Britannia line was the embodiment of social Darwinism, that even commoners could climb up in rank through sheer skill. To spit on that would alienate the majority of the common people. She had wanted them to die publicly by Britannian fire, or not at all and raised as one of their own.

She hadn't been blind to the possibility of Britannia using their deaths at Japanese hands to propel them to martyrdom either. It would give them a justification for the war and the soldiers would be merciless in avenging their prince and princess.

By saving Lelouch publicly she could save thousands of Japanese civilians and force the hand of foreign powers. But it had been in vain when she heard the Kurururgi shrine was bombed and Suzaku showed up alone.

She had wanted to slap him then and there when he explained how they were almost killed by Japanese and he let it happen. She still wanted to, now that Lelouch had returned.

He had admitted that traumatic events kept him from coming back sooner, meaning that something had happened to his sister. She knew he wouldn't have shrugged off, any harm to his little sister. So he could very well be harboring a bottomless hatred for the Japanese right now.

If so there was little she could do about it, other than assassinate him. But that man's capabilities may be the only thing that could save her Japan now. He had already rescued it from the brink of destruction once before. So even if he was only intending to use it for his own purposes. She had no choice but to let him, for now.

But that didn't mean she couldn't alter his course somewhat. She had read her history and knew some of the greatest decisions made by influential leaders were because of their wife's influence. There was a very good reason why political marriages were still common up until two centuries ago. But who could she possibly use to convince Lelouch to be more pro-Japan.

After thinking it over, there was no one she would trust with this crucial task other than herself. And she didn't want to condemn a servant to a loveless marriage. She liked Lelouch well enough and even if he was disappointing in some ways. She was more than willing to suck it up for the sake of Japan.

But how to go about it?

Lelouch was a schemer. But he might not appreciate a partner in crime so to speak. Hmm she had better approach him as a silly carefree girl to prevent him from putting his guard up. She needed him to find her endearing not a worthy adversary whose every move he second guessed.

Luckily she already had cultivated that persona while dealing with Britannian officials to lure them into a false sense of security. But how should she plan this out, go slow and subtle or come right out of the gate with a bang.

She would have to send out some agents to figure out how sensitive Lelouch was to romantic undertones and how he acted around girls in general.

* * *

**Kallen pov **

**Back at headquarters**

Kallen felt vindicated in her trust in this mysterious man more than ever. His talk with Kyoto tiptoed around saying anything that might reveal his identity to her, but it more than proved his skills and connections. He was on a first name basis with every noteworthy name in the Japanese resistance It seemed. And he really had done something to warrant assassins being after him.

They had been especially vague about that, which she understood because if she knew the specific incident she could look up who was suspected of it and figure out his identity that way.

"We really are treated like pawns huh." sighed Ohgi from the couch.

Oghi's gloomy mood surprised Kallen "What are you talking about?"

"Didn't you realize they talked above our heads and never to us. We were treated like little kids that shouldn't be told adult stuff. "

Kallen hadn't, but maybe that was because she was used to it. Ohgi constantly tried to keep her out of any resistance work and Naoto had done the same before him. The new operational security and her friend's well meaning over-protectiveness just blurred together into the same thing for her.

She gave Oghi a dry look and said "Nah, I'm used to people not telling me anything."

Ohgi flinched slightly at that but continued his point "I mean they are casually discussing plans that might put our lives in danger. But the only thing we were told was that we now have a hundred knightmares under our control and are going to sell them to the JLF."

"So" questioned Kallen "We aren't doing anything dangerous yet, just laying some groundwork for the future. I'll admit it's frustrating not knowing what's going on but… "Kallen shrugged to say the unsaid

"You're too naïve Kallen." He held up his hand to stop Kallen's retort "And it's my fault. I never brought you to meetings with other resistance groups because of your Britannian looks. Even Naoto got suspicious and wary looks back then and meetings were always tense. We never became more than a small time terrorist cell despite Naoto's skilled leadership. Because it was Naoto that led us."

Kallen glared at the racism among the Japanese, even if it was understandable. "So you're saying our leader is Britannian or something and that's why he won't show his face" asked Kallen in anger, feeling frustrated since she was second guessed all the time as well. It was a sore wound.

Ohgi scoffed and dismissed the notion with a wave of his hand "Off course not, that'd be preposterous. No I'm saying these meetings are always tense and the possibility of double-crossing does exist, despite all of us being on the same side. You didn't notice it, but I heard one of the Europeans got a special mission for today."

She blinked "So what?"

Ohgi sighed at her naivety "Think of the timing Kallen. We haven't done anything other than training missions and recruitment missions. The fact that he got a special mission now, meant that our leader wanted him in position in case the meeting with Kyoto turned ugly. He was taking a risk by revealing lady Sumeragi's name and could have been shot before she called of her guards."

"So you're saying a European infiltrated Kyoto to provide back up. That's ridiculous he would stand out like a sore thumb. He would get shot on sight for looking like a Britannian before he got within a hundred metres of Sumeragi."

"I know, which means they used that synthetic mask to infiltrate Kyoto as well. Our leader could have had a gun to lady Sumeragi's back the entire time."

"So our leader took precautions, so what?" Dismissed Kallen again

"I'm using it as an example. Our meeting with the JLF will be more of the same and if what lady Sumeragi says is true then it might really erupt into violence. Tohdoh might demand to see his face and whether he refuses or not, it is sure to aggravate them. Tohdoh apparently hates him and refusal is a slap in the face of their honor."

"So we're going into a hostile situation no matter what we do?"

"Yeah, it may sound simple but it isn't. But our leader is presenting it as a stroll through the park to us."

Kallen now had some doubts again about her leader, but pushed them to the side for now. "I guess he is just trying to keep morale up. If we told Tamaki about every little thing that could go wrong or the consequences of it. Then he would never agree to anything."

"I agree, it's necessary to present an optimistic picture to guys like Tamaki. But the fact that we aren't told, despite being leaders of the Black Knights shows we are still pawns like Tamaki to them. " after he said it, he left his mouth hanging open. Like he couldn't believe he had just called one of his best friends a pawn. As if it left a bad taste.

Kallen didn't have a good answer to that but she tried nonetheless "Maybe they will tell us once we start for real. Right now anyone can still back out without any hard feelings. But once we know his face, he won't let us go no matter what."

"Maybe." allowed Ohgi, seemingly unconvinced.

* * *

**Author notes**

**Political marriage from Kaguya.**

It was stated that Kaguya was infatuated with zero and decided to be his bride no matter what anyone said. She even went so far to publicly support him sleeping around if it pleased him.

In this story I am treating it as a political move from Kaguya. She fears he may hate the Japanese or abandon them at some point if it suits his purposes. So she is trying to counter his hate with love and to align his interests with japan.

**Action**

Some of you may have been bored with the lack of action but starting from the next chapter Lelouch will seriously start his campaign. The action got postponed even more with the addition of clovis' plotline but now there will be a big buildup towards a large-scale battle with smaller scale ones in between.

I play quite a few strategy games and I always focus more on the economic part than the military part. This is simply because of the bottlenecks on troop numbers population and other resources. I know I will be outnumbered but tactics will only allow me to win against an enemy twice my numbers at most.

So whenever possible I stockpile as much as I can to replace any losses quickly once I begin my campaign. I like to press my advantage as much as possible without giving the enemy any time to recover which takes a lot of resources to keep up. This philosophy bleeds into how I write Lelouch because I simply can't think of a better way to do it.

He probably would have done it in cannon as well if he hadn't had to jumpstart his schedule to save Suzaku. Once he became public he needed to keep his momentum going or never rise beyond a mere terrorist. But my Lelouch has the time to prepare more carefully.

But I also had to skip saitama ghetto and Suzaku's trial because Lelouch wouldn't have saved Suzaku even if it helped his plans. Also he let clovis live because he was intrigued more by his secret research than his feelings of revenge.

In canon Lelouch was caught up in a whirlwind of events that barely gave him time to stop and think. In my version of Shinjuku ghetto he had more time to think and compose himself before acting.


	21. Chapter 21 Negotiation

**Arc Seven **

**Chapter Twenty one Negotiation**

**Narita mountain range**

**JLF headquarters, general****'****s private quarters **

**General Katase pov**

He waited patiently for the transmission from Kyoto to be transferred to his personal screen. He knew from his own spies within the six houses that they were deliberating on whether or not to give him Sutherlands. So he was eagerly awaiting their decision, and if they had bothered to tell him the result than it was most likely a positive one.

The transmission came through and Kaguya Sumeragi was displayed in her traditional kimono on the screen. General Katase couldn't help but feel disappointed. He knew Kaguya lacked the authority to represent the houses as a whole. So in all likelihood this wasn't about a new shipment of Sutherlands but some demand she was going to place on them.

Out of all the six houses, Sumeragi was the least enamored with the JLF. She constantly badgered them for results or added strings to any support she was willing to give. He once more cursed the day her father passed from this world because he had been a much more reasonable man.

"Ahh good to see you Kaguya sama" He greeted politely, just because she was a petulant little brat didn't mean he could afford to piss her off.

"Good day general how are things on your end?" She asked politely in return

Though the question was harmless enough it worried him nonetheless. Several of her interrogations had started on a similar tract. He hoped he didn't have to justify himself again against an eighteen year old.

"Well enough, the men are still emboldened by our successes following the Shinjuku massacre and their drive hasn't diminished since." answered general Katase despite the fact that the JLF hadn't participated in the wave of terrorist activities following the news of the Shinjuku massacre. Tohdoh had advised against it. But it paid to present themselves as more active to Kaguya. The 'our' in his sentence referred to the Japanese as a whole rather than the JLF specifically, but hopefully she wouldn't catch that.

"I see." Kaguya seemed slightly uncomfortable, so the next thing she was about to say was undoubtedly going to put a damper on things "it's good to hear the JLF is being _proactive _again."

General Katase didn't even react to the barb as he was well used to them by now.

"Anyways, the reason why I called was to tell you that I learned from a reliable source that Cornelia is coming to area eleven. Apparently she has lobbied heavily for the position."

General Katase felt all the color drain from his face as he heard the news. That witch had sent thousands of his men to their deaths during the second invasion. He didn't want to face her on the battlefield again, if he could help it. But now it seemed there was little choice. Undoubtedly Cornelia was coming to exterminate the remains of the Japanese resistance and for that she couldn't ignore the JLF.

He plastered on a grin "We'll be fighting a pitched battle against Britannia once more then. I'll look forward to it." He said with more bravado than he felt.

He needed to sound confident however to convince Kaguya to sent him those Sutherlands. There was no way he could count on Tohdoh to defeat Cornelia's elite units without them. Tohdoh was good, but he couldn't take on superior numbers and superior firepower at the same time.

Kaguya didn't seem to buy his act, but didn't comment on it either "I have already told the other houses, and they agreed to sent you a shipment of Sutherlands. However we don't expect this to be enough to weather the coming storm."

General Katase was surprised she did in fact have the authority to represent the six houses. Apparently she had been moving up in status within Kyoto, that could spell trouble in the future. But for now he didn't care.

He bowed his head to her "I graciously accept your much-needed donation to our cause and thank you on behalf of the Japanese people." It was a bit over the top but it always seemed to please the other houses when they delivered supplies to the JLF.

Kaguya simply nodded absently and continued "You're welcome but as i said you will need more. I have recently made contact with a new movement in Japan that has been focusing on humanitarian efforts and creating a black economy for the Japanese to thrive in."

"Ah yes the black knights our new knights in shining armor." joked general Katase "But what do philanthropists have to do with us and Cornelia?"

Kaguya glared at him for interrupting her "As I was saying, their leader has managed to acquire a hundred knightmares but lacks the men to use them. Once he learned that Cornelia will be arriving shortly, he offered to sell them to the JLF."

General Katase smiled, Kyoto had pulled through once again. He didn't know how they had convinced those wannabe resistance fighters to part with their entire arsenal but he didn't care.

They were most likely stolen from the britannians or salvaged from somewhere.

But even if the frames were barely functioning he would still take them at a discount. A paintjob and a strategic placement alone could deter the britannians for a while. Until they realized it was a non functioning wreck. It reminded him of a story about torches tied to a herd of cows that had drawn an entire army to them in the middle of the night. Leaving their defenses wide open for the real attack.

Kaguya smiled as well "I will be setting up a meeting between you two, to allow you to negotiate amongst yourselves. I trust that you agree with this proposal."

"Off course, I will send Lt colonel Tohdoh to negotiate with them himself."

Kaguya frowned at that "You can't send Tohdoh on such a delicate mission. That man is too surly. He will undoubtedly screw it up, I demand that you go in person."

"But I can't leave the base without a leader and this new group could try to threaten me to get a better deal." protested general Katase

"Are you saying you would risk the lives of your men but not your own." asked Kaguya with a glare.

"It may sound bad but you cannot risk your commanding officers like that. If they are lost, the soldiers will be thrown into chaos. They will be split into factions arguing who is in command and what to do next."

"That's what a chain of command is for. " Kaguya pointed out

"True. But if I die, then the JLF will be split between Tohdoh and Kusakabe. They are both of the same rank."

Kaguya's face turned up into disgust "I see your point, if that Kusakabe assumed leadership" she involuntarily shuddered "But I still insist you meet with them in person. I hold a lot of faith in this new group and I want you to measure their worth for yourself."

"Very well Kaguya sama I will judge their worthiness." He agreed reluctantly

* * *

**Viceroy palace, roof, helipad. **

**Princess Cornelia **

She crouched low and tried to keep her hair in a semblance of order despite the helicopters blades still spinning full speed above her. She could have waited for them to slow down but she was too eager to get started. Heck she could have taken a car from the airport if looking good had actually been a priority. But a bad hairdo was the least she was willing to suffer to get Clovis out of his mess.

The purist bitch that Clovis couldn't muzzle coupled with the surge of terrorism following the massacre was seen as the start of this whole mess. And his resignation only shielded him from the public's wrath, not the gaze of the Emperor.

She had lobbied to be his replacement for the sole reason of helping her brother. As the new viceroy she could provide an '_objective__'_view on the problems in this area.

She knew it was reckless to twist things to her favor in front of the Emperor. But she liked her brother and she had many good memories with him. Not to mention the fact that he had propped up the interim viceroy from the shadows.

Interim viceroy Kewel Soresi was still ruined politically. But he'd absorbed most of the damage for the royal family. And for that he had their silent gratitude.

He'd protected her from the press, by drowning her appeal out with other scandals. Kewel's refusal to treat riot victims because they were elevens had sparked outrage abroad as well as at home. Like moths to a flame the reporters had feasted of his soon to be corpse. Only Clovis' machinations kept him standing long enough for her to push her reforms through quietly.

She'd still suffered endless self-righteous rants from feminists, journalists and the army. But it could have been worse.

Luckily the Emperor had blindly signed her restructuring plans. Allowing her to appease the media quickly, before it had too much time to fester with the public.

Even if she had to give up the military's right to court-martial their own people. And waive the inability to sue the military for injuries suffered during service, if it was sexual in nature.

Schneizel had stared long and hard at the expected billions the army was likely to pay in settlements to avoid dragging it out in the media, before agreeing to her plan.

In the end he called it a necessary expense and started drafting plans to cope with the budget deficit caused by what he called 'bribes to keep the people orderly'.

It was a bitter pill to swallow but no civilian judge would find the accused rapists not guilty to begin with. So it was a moot point really.

Too many 'false' claims had already been proven true. That no one dared question the integrity of the claimant anymore. The media backlash alone could ruin them.

She reached her reception and was saluted with a hastily thrown together show of opulence and decadence. She felt disgusted at the sheer waste and superfluous nature of it all.

As a military officer she was used to living on bare necessities. Out of practicality and necessity, since her requests for additional supplies were often denied. It was easy to superimpose the faces of the gaggle in front of her on those faceless bureaucrats. Schneizel had warned her to keep her prejudices in check, but already she felt like strangling or at least firing them.

"Give me a SITREP." She ordered the person who seemed to be in charge,

"Ah what?" He asked in incomprehension

She gave him a sharp look for not knowing military jargon common enough, that it was used in several movies. "I asked you to tell me what the situation is?"

"Oh" He said intelligently "Well there is a welcoming ball planned for you this evening to allow you meet the influential nobles in the area. There is also a.. "

"I asked for the situation, not my itinerary." interrupted Cornelia impatiently

She was tempted to just blow off that pompous ball, but she might learn more from the whining nobles than this incompetent man. And regretfully she needed to do some networking to help stabilize the region. Since Clovis was too disgraced to do it for her.

The man's eyes shifted about before they settled somewhere to her top left. "Well, our government spending is only slightly above targeted numbers, thanks to prince Clovis's military intervention. " princess Cornelia rolled her eyes 'just say massacre'. "The political climate among the nobles is supportive of you, and are eager to help you exterminate the terrorists."

Cornelia tuned the man out when she heard him subtly place the blame for the budget already on Clovis. She knew her fellow nobles were expecting her to want to publicly blame everything on Clovis and pretend it would be a gargantuan undertaking to clean up his mess.

It would permanently knock Clovis out of the race for succession and she could ride the wave of popular sentiment to catch up to Schneizel. It was why the rest of her half-siblings wanted the job other than Euphie and Schneizel.

The genocide had been unpopular with the commoners. So even if most nobles didn't care. It paid to denounce it publicly. The relations between nobles and commoners was still strained and most nobles jumped at the chance to ingratiate themselves.

The numerous public lynching of prominent nobles who abused commoners were burned into the collective memory of the nobility. They were harshly reminded why they had to flee Europe in the first place and were willing to pay lip service to keep them calm.

She however didn't care to rise in status because she didn't want to be Empress in the first place. Her men would follow her to hell itself, and that was all the support she really wanted.

She noticed that the man had stopped droning on and thanked him before moving on. Once she was out of earshot, she asked Darlton "What did that man ramble on about?"

Darlton chuckled at his princess's impatience "He twisted several things to be the fault of prince Clovis and called his sponsorship of the arts a waste of taxpayer money."

"Hmm we'll need to find someone worth talking to that can give us an unbiased opinion. In the mean time I want you to go over the accounts and draw up your own opinion. I can't act until I know where we stand, also Clovis said that someone better than Tohdoh commanded the terrorists in Shinjuku.

Get Guilford to find out why the police haven't had any luck finding out who they are and more importantly who lead them. If I can drag that leader in chains before the Emperor I might save Clovis." She might be able to blame it all on him, if she made him out to be greater than he really was.

"Yes your highness." confirmed Darlton but before he left he added "Princess Euphemia told me on the flight over that she wanted to visit the upcoming convention about sakuradite in Kawaguchi. So she can gain a better appreciation of world economics and politics."

Cornelia hardly had to think about it before she gave her blessing "Tell her she can go, but to take a guard detail with her."

She knew her little sister was sheltered and needed to learn how the world really worked before it was too late. She couldn't protect her forever and especially now that she was of age. She was becoming a player in politics and the nobles would expect her to act like it.

Her own over-protectiveness might bite her in the ass, if she didn't change that soon. A simple conference of men casually deciding the fate of millions could be the sobering experience she needed to snap Euphie from her idealized world.

She applauded her goals and beliefs, but that naivety had to go before she got hurt, or worse.

* * *

**Hotel, C.C****'****s room **

**Lelouch **

Lelouh was annoyed by the JLF's sluggishness despite his warning that Cornelia was coming. Kaguya had told him that they needed to prepare a site suitable to a negotiation because they weren't willing to risk any of their secret hide outs but couldn't risk their lead negotiator general Katase either.

Kaguya had told him that she had insisted on general Katase himself when the alternative was Tohdoh. He had generously thanked her even more when he found out that the alternative was between Tohdoh and Kusakabe.

He wanted to deal even less with Kusakabe than he did with Tohdoh. The only reason he avoided Tohdoh for now, was because he might see through him if they met face to face.

He preferred the JLF to not realize they were being tempted to join him after their inevitable loss.

After a long staring match with his phone it finally rang with the right caller ID "So have you finally decided on a meeting spot?"

The JLF officer gave him the location of a small fishing village that had been abandoned by both the Japanese and the britannians. They probably assumed that he would need the three hours they gave him just to get there. And wouldn't have time to scope the place out or place traps.

But he had anticipated this and ordered his 'Euro' black knights to be stationed in a grid like manner across all of Japan. They could get there in half an hour and provide back up while the rest moved closer towards it.

He agreed to the location after putting up a show of annoyance to convince them he couldn't possibly have any back up at the meeting that they wouldn't see coming.

"Have fun on your date. And don't forget a lady doesn't put out until the third date!" CC called after him as he got up to leave.

He decided to keep quiet. Her earlier barbs when he had been picking out what to wear still stung.

* * *

**Kawaguchi lake hotel **

Euphie was looking over her brochure describing the event that she was here for. She already knew everything she needed to know about it. But she checked anyway to pass the time.

It was about to begin any moment now and everyone was already gathered in the room. She had proudly declared she wanted to attend and had prepared for it by reading all the related materials. It had been boring and depressing. But she had powered through it, in order to understand what was going on during the convention.

She turned her attention to the front stage to hear the speaker introduce the program for the day. But just as he was giving a list of accomplishments for the second speaker, a Japanese man ran on stage with an assault rifle.

It took a few seconds for the realization to sink in. But when it did, everyone started screaming and some began running for the exit.

But they were blocked by another pair of Japanese with assault rifles. A few tried to intimidate them into letting them go but only got a gunstock to the cheek for their troubles. Her undercover detail had already surrounded her and was whispering reassuring words into her ear. But she didn't understand what they were saying.

Their words were a blur to her. She tried to grasp what they were saying while they guided her along with them. She felt like she was a piece of driftwood being carried along on the ocean's waves.

She couldn't believe what had just happened and was frozen in fear because of it. She cowered along with the rest of the hostages when the Japanese threatened to use violence against any trouble makers.

Their looks of hatred and tense body postures was all the proof she needed that they would follow through on their threat. She allowed herself to be herded into another room and sat down on the ground. Her guards whispered that she needed to keep a low profile to prevent the terrorists from noticing her. She had luckily registered herself using an alias. So they shouldn't figure out from the guest list that she was here.

She had hoped to get an impartial view at reality by going undercover rather than the lies served to her as a princess. She hadn't thought it would be the only thing protecting her from being used as a bargaining chip.

* * *

**Ten miles east of a little fishing village **

**Lelouch **

Lelouch sat across from general Katase on a boat in the middle of the ocean. He had underestimated general Katase. Apparently the plan was to isolate him on the open sea. His back up was rendered useless and left stranded on the beach. Since he hadn't checked the plus one column on his invitation. Or plus a dozen as the case may be. Which would have been fine if they could at least provide tactical fire support. But with these winds and the rocking waves, it'd be a miracle, if even a single sniper bullet landed where they aimed it. So he preferred getting kidnapped, strong armed or whatever over spinning the wheel of fortune.

He was seated on deck with an open view of everything around him to give him the feeling of freedom while he was really a bird in a cage.

He had been padded down before he got on the little boat that took him here and was now only armed with his geass and a cell phone. He was wearing the same mask when he met Kaguya. She had given general Katase a picture of him to convince him it was his real face. Thanks to that he didn't have to deal with annoying demands to show his face. He merely had to utter a few pass phrases to identify himself.

"So general Katase let's get down to business." said Lelouch once the pleasantries were exchanged.

"Very well, I hear you are willing to provide us with a hundred knightmares." general Katase opened

Lelouch frowned at the word 'provide' it implied he was going to give them for free or bargain prices. Apparently the good general wasn't wasting any time in trying to bully him around.

Lelouch avoided saying 'no' outright. "I managed to bribe some people in the right places to obtain them. But I don't have a use for them yet. I do however need some more money to continue my bribes. So I thought about selling them to a more capable group."

By hinting at the fact that he could supply them with more knightmares in the future, he hoped that he would get a better deal here today. He would have preferred to just use his geass. But he hadn't missed the cameras all around him.

He wasn't entirely sure why they had camera's filming their meeting. But he supposed it was for security purposes and to reassure the other members of the JLF back at their base. It wasn't as if general Katase's face wasn't already on a wanted poster. So it leaking out wasn't a problem, even if they deemed it small. Him questioning it, however, would insult their competence. Not a good start to a negotiation even if them not asking his permission was an insult on itself.

But regardless of the reasons it ruled out the possibility of his geass. Since it wasn't a common day occurrence that people did a one-eighty and obediently followed a stranger's orders. They'd suspect foul play and shoot him before running a tox screen on the general.

"I see, who pray tell did you manage to bribe that have escaped our notice." asked general Katase in interest. No doubt trying to cut out the middle man.

Lelouch smirked "Now that would be telling. I can't reveal trade secrets like that general Katase."

General Katase nodded not expecting any different "Very well then. Now how much do you want for these knightmares, and what models are they?"

"They are the normal run of the mill glasgows. But they are factory fresh, so I want normal market value for them."

"I think you may have over-estimated our group's resources. We can't afford to pay the full price for that many knightmare frames. Can't you give us a discount?" bargained general Katase

And there it was. A bit more blunt than he'd expected. "I am prepared to give a twenty percent discount, if you are willing to promise to never use the knightmares against innocent civilians."

it was good PR to be known to make these kinds of demands whenever he did any arms dealing. It gave his supporters a counter argument when his detractors accused him of profiteering of the deaths and misery of others. It didn't change any facts. but it gave them something to fill the silence with, rather than reluctantly having to concede the point.

General Katase proudly boasted "My men would never hurt the innocent. They are all honorable men who uphold chivalry in these days of oppression. They set the example for all others to follow towards the liberation of Japan."

Lelouch idly nodded in all the right places to please the general. He knew he was being given this speech because he was wearing a synthetic 'Japanese' mask. The general was trying to inspire patriotic feelings to get an even better deal.

But Lelouch hadn't intended to give more than a twenty percent discount to begin with. Anymore and it would be charity on his part. He could have started lower and worked his way up but he didn't want to give the impression he could be bullied into giving a better deal. If he did, than he'd be forced to renegotiate endlessly. Their whining could end up taking up more of his time than defeating Britannia.

"And all of Japan is grateful for your sacrifice. " replied Lelouch to shut the man up.

They proceeded to argue about the small stuff like delivery method, time of delivery, location and payment method.

Just as Lelouch was about to finish up and take his leave he got a call from one of his subordinates. He didn't answer immediately, instead he let it ring a few times to let the guards surrounding him recognize the sound.

He didn't want to provoke them by reaching his hand into his pocket too quickly. He waited for a nod to proceed, before he answered his phone.

It was Leila on the other end of the line "We have a problem!" She yelled to get his attention and then started talking quickly to explain "The JLF under Lt colonel Kusakabe have taken a number of Britannian civilians hostage at a lake hotel in Kawaguchi. Among which is the royal princess Euphemia Li Britannia! Princess Cornelia will rain hell down on anyone connected to the JLF, so abort if possible. We aren't ready yet to go up against her."

Lelouch groaned "Thank you Q2, please stay on the line to keep me posted." He then turned to the general again "It seems your men have disgraced you, before the ink on our deal has even dried general."

General Katase seemed genuinely confused "What are you talking about?"

Lelouch glared at the incompetent man "Your subordinates just took britannians hostage in Kawaguchi and you're telling me you knew nothing about this!"

"What, off course not! I would never authorize a mission like that. It would only vilify us in the eyes of the Japanese people and abroad. We would lose our support and the gains would be marginal compared to that." general Katase quickly defended.

Lelouch however wasn't satisfied "That doesn't change the fact that they are doing so right now! This means that our deal is off. If you can't even control your men, I can't entrust you with these knightmares."

"Please reconsider, we shouldn't be hasty. The future of Japan could be decided by these knightmares now that Cornelia has descended upon our fair land like a plague."

Lelouch wanted to smirk at how easily his leverage had worked, but kept his scowling mask in place "Very well, if you can call off your men, I will reconsider our deal."

General Katase frowned at the order, especially the 'can' in it. But complied nonetheless and ordered his men to bring him a radio. So he could command Kusakabe to retreat, before it was too late.

He got in touch with Kusakabe and ordered him to explain what he was doing. Once he heard that it was to put Japan back on the map, to let people know they weren't dead yet. He sighed in disappointment.

"Lt colonel Kusakabe this will only worsen our standing with the people, the world and Kyoto. You must retreat before it is too late and you are surrounded!" He ordered understandingly

"What do you mean you're already surrounded by Cornelia's men. How could they have gotten there so fast?"

Lelouch could hear Leila whispering in his ear that the military was still on its way. Only the local police had shown up yet and they should have been able to break through those. So Kusakabe was blatantly lying to his superior officer.

General Katase sighed in regret "Very well then. Lt colonel Kusakabe I hereby order you to let the hostages go, and to make your last stand against Britannia."

Lelouch noticed general Katase flinch for a second at the Lt colonel's loud reply.

"I know what I'm ordering you to do. But I already have someone threatening not to sell us a hundred knightmares, now that you have endangered civilians. We need the goodwill of…" general Katase held the radio away from his ear and glared at it "That brat hung up on me!"

Lelouch stared condescendingly at the man as he tried hailing Kusakabe again "I take it you can't rein in your men."

"I can, I just need a bit more time. They know that if they let the hostages go, there will be nothing to stop Britannia from murdering them. I'm ordering their deaths by giving them that order." protested general Katase

Lelouch understood his point, even the best generals would have trouble convincing their men to take a suicide mission. But Lelouch didn't care, because they threw away their lives to begin with when they took hostages. Especially Euphie.

They should have known that Britannia would never let them live. And they did it anyway for a misguided publicity stunt.

"They were dead the moment they raised their weapons against the innocent. If you can't convince them of that then I will." Lelouch then got up and left to board the small boat back to shore.

"What do you think you're doing!" yelled general Katase after him

"To convince them myself and my price will be twice that of market value, if you still want my knightmares." He announced and he turned on the engine to speed away.

He could hear general Katase grumbling, but he couldn't say anything because his men had acted without his orders and shamed him in this negotiation. It wasn't a stretch to say they were deserters and no longer deserved to be called his men. But making that distinction now, wouldn't accomplish a thing.

Lelouch ignored him and just kept on moving. He had hoped to strike up a temporary alliance with the JLF before absorbing them. But if that was their leadership then he might be burdened more by them than he gained.

He put his cell phone back against his ear and asked "I take it you heard that Q2"

"I did" She succinctly answered although she no doubt held questions, but she knew to save them for later.

"Good then you're up to speed. Order all our men to surround the hotel in preparation for a rescue mission. We need to rescue Euphie or risk Cornelia turning area eleven into a police state. Also get me the following items…"

* * *

**Author notes **

Did anyone notice that without Clovis' death he can't tell the Emperor who Zero is through the sword of Akasha? Any thoughts on how that might alter the Emperor's approach to Zero?


	22. One for all and all for one

**Chapter twenty-two One for all and all for one. **

**Kallen**

Kallen was still dressed in her school uniform as she rushed over to the meeting spot designated by Zero. She hadn't had time to change when she got the emergency call. She didn't really understand why they had to rescue the britannians. But orders were orders.

She gathered around the meeting spot where numerous other Japanese were gathered already, moving around diving equipment for some reason.

Then one of them moved forward and announced himself as their leader. Everyone turned around and stared at him as if doubting his claim.

She still couldn't get used to the fact that their leader could be anyone. But that characteristic confidence in the way he carried himself and charisma as he ordered everyone about, could only belong to one man. The newly code-named Zero.

"Alright listen up, we are going to use the diving equipment to sneak into the hotel. The JLF are watching the only remaining road into the hotel and the lake's surface for any boats, but they won't look right under their noses. We'll cross the lake with our scuba gear." He gestured at the dozen trucks filled with oxygen tanks and wetsuits. "Those on shore will dump dry ice into the lake to form a fake fog that will cover our entrance into the hotel."

"And then what! Are we going to kill our own comrades to save some lousy brit scum?" asked Tamaki loudly and brashly

But despite Tamaki' eloquence many members were nodding along with him. The one designated as Zero glared Tamaki into silence. "Do you know who those people inside that hotel are?"

Tamaki was taken aback for a bit before he regained his confidence and loudly replied "The brit scum who carve up our nation for their own profit!"

"That's what you see, but the rest of the world merely see innocent civilians taken captive by the monstrous Japanese!" returned Zero

"Let them think whatever they want. They didn't help us when we asked seven years or even ten years ago, so why should we care now!"

"Because we are the Black Knights, the knights for justice and we will protect anyone who is an innocent bystander." Zero proclaimed. Though the group wasn't moved by this rhetoric, so he added "I also spotted a Britannian princess among the hostages that we have to rescue no matter what!"

"Why should we have to risk our lives to save Britannian royalty of all people. We should be trying to kill her, not trying to save her!" Tamaki protested loudly

"Because inside that hotel is Euphemia Li Britannia, the little sister of our new viceroy. If a single hair is harmed on her head then Cornelia Li Britannia will turn area eleven into a police state and take her vengeance out on the Japanese."

The group looked on impassively, as far as they knew they were already living inside a police state. So why bother.

Zero's posture became slightly agitated "She isn't opposed to a genocide or two to get what she wants. The only difference with her and Clovis is that she can't be stopped as easily."

"Then shouldn't we focus on taking her out." muttered Tamaki

"We could but she is heavily guarded by her elite soldiers at all times, so getting to her is impossible for now. But let me ask you Tamaki, what did you intend to do when you stole the poison gas and brought it to Shinjuku."

"To prevent Britannia from using it on innocent Japanese and to dispose of it." Tamaki proudly answered right away.

"Then let me ask you this, did it never occur to you that they might be able to detonate the poison capsule remotely. You could have brought the poison gas directly to the Japanese, you were trying to protect. The britannians could have had a ready-made excuse that the terrorists set it off and just detonate it!"

Tamaki and the other members of the Shinjuku resistance that were present suddenly turned ashen faced as they struggled with this. Kallen especially felt like she was being stabbed with a hot poker.

"So we should have just waited around for them to use it on us, rather than try to do something about it" countered Ohgi

" Off course not, but why bring it to the ghetto were there are only acceptable casualties for the britannians. And did you think prince Clovis would let you get away unpunished? That poison gas was apparently enough to get him disinherited. He ordered the massacre of Shinjuku to cover it up and retain his status."

Kallen felt sick to her stomach and could barely get her question out. She dreaded the answer but she needed to hear it nonetheless. "Are you saying we caused the Shinjuku massacre?"

"Only indirectly " reassured Zero but it was cold comfort for Kallen who now more than ever craved absolution for her sins. She had seen countless corpses that day. She had tried to blame it on the britannians then. But to hear confirmation that the weight of those souls rested on her shoulders was too much to bear.

"You can't just act wildly and follow your heart. You need to think ahead and consider the consequences of your actions. I cleaned up the mess of Shinjuku as best I could! And now we are going to clean up the mess the JLF made, to prevent more innocent casualties!"

Kallen snapped out of her gloomy thoughts at the prospective of preventing another massacre, It was the least she could do to redeem herself.

She spoke up "Zero's right we need to take responsibility for our actions and help the Japanese. If that means saving these innocent britannians, then so be it. We won't give them a pretext to commit their savageries against us again!"

That reminded everyone of the few short weeks when the death of prince Lelouch and his crippled sister was blamed on the hands of the Japanese. The weeks of unholy vengeance courtesy of patriotic britannians.

No one was spared, not even women and children. In their hatred and bloodlust everything was justified, and no deed morally reprehensible. Only prince Lelouch's revelation of who was really behind his murder calmed the bloodlust of the britannians by shocking them to their core.

But by then they had already suffered many losses, many resistance members had lost family, friends, and lovers to the purge. The thought of it happening again with the death of princess Euphemia, underlined how serious the situation really was.

Oghi lent his support as well "Zero's right we need to prevent the atrocities from ten years ago from happening again!"

More people joined in and soon everyone was in agreement. They listened carefully to Zero's orders and got into position to storm the hotel.

* * *

Lelouch calmed directed his troops after he gave them a reality check. He needed them to realize that their actions had consequences. Too many of them were shortsighted and didn't realize they were hurting the Japanese more than they were helping them. They called their detractors cowards. But they were no more than thugs living in a bygone era.

If he was going to command them effectively, he needed to manage their expectations. If they thought he was just going to do, whatever they thought was a good idea, then they were sorely mistaken.

His speech just now should have created a large amount of guilt in those who participated in Shinjuku and to a lesser degree in most of the new recruits. It would force them to think things through. But if his plan worked today, it would also firmly plant the notion in their heads that only by following him could they avoid more costly mistakes and redeem themselves.

He especially wanted Kallen to feel indebted to him and follow his orders unquestioningly. Most of the other recruits were replaceable, but Kallen alone would be able to stand up to Cornelia's royal guard.

He had gone over every single simulator test score personally and no one else came even close to the 90 percent range other than Akito. He topped out at 89% which was commendable but Kallen had one of 96%. Which meant she could hold her own against the rounds someday, if she gained more experience.

He put on this own wet suit and oxygen tank and gave his men some last-minute instructions before he put in his mouthpiece and jumped into the water.

As he swam he was glad that Britannia hadn't had the time to deploy the Portman yet. The naval unit was a cousin of the Sutherland, but hadn't seen any active use yet. Despite the fact that it could revolutionize the way naval warfare was fought.

It felt like forever to cross the large lake and he was getting worried about how much oxygen he had left. It was a good thing his exit plan didn't rely on it or he would have been out of luck.

His arms started feeling heavy and his legs started cramping up from the constant strain. He was slowing down and falling behind the others, despite his best efforts to keep up.

They weren't going especially fast to preserve stamina for the next part. So the fact that he couldn't keep up was really insulting. He started to worry about what would happen if his men emerged from the water without him. It would spark confusion and rumors that he abandoned them.

He had gone on this mission personally to prove his own commitment to the cause to prevent anyone from doubting him and his orders. But if he fell behind now the entire gesture would be meaningless and overshadowed by his physical ineptness.

He felt something touch his shoulder and he immediately pulled back in fright. But after getting over his shock he realized it was Kallen who was grabbing him.

After he relaxed he saw her encouraging smile and let her pull him forward. It was a bit embarrassing for his male ego, but for the sake of his mission he would bear with it.

With Kallen's help he arrived just behind the rest of his men on schedule.

"Alright there are still no guards here, probably to prevent taking sniper fire." commented Lelouch as he surveyed the marina that docked the various leisure vessels and supply boats.

They snuck from cover to cover towards the hotel and waited for the fog to reach them. Lelouh hadn't been sure about this part, but he hoped it would be enough.

Leila was dumping dry ice into the lake by the truckload. But the distance and the width of the lake made it questionable if the fog would even reach them.

As a counter measure he had ordered each of his men to take a block of dry ice with them in a capsule. Now that the fog was spreading those underwater capsules also released their contents and spread the fog further, giving them a few valuable minutes to scale the building and bypass the first chokepoint.

* * *

**Temporary Britannian high command **

**Princess Cornelia, viceroy of area eleven**

Cornelia gritted her teeth in frustration yet again when another plan to storm the building and save the hostages was rejected. The only possible way to reach the hotel fast enough was through an underground tunnel but that was guarded by some kind of weapon that made mincemeat of even her brand new Sutherlands.

She had requisitioned a shipment of portmans as soon as she learned that all routes had been cut by land. But the blasted machines were still in the mainland and wouldn't get here in time even if she airlifted them. She was still airlifting them just in case but she doubted that this hostage situation was going to last more than twelve hours.

But she would never forgive herself if it did and she had foolishly overlooked the option.

By now she was giving serious thought to just granting the terrorists demands and to sweeten the pot by giving them several political prisoners from other areas. The professional rebels would be a thorn in her side yet again. But they would be too tempting to pass up for the JLF.

She would get an earful from the Emperor, Carine and Guinevere but she could count on Schneizel to back her up. She would probably lose her viceroyship and be demoted from her field marshal rank in the army but she didn't care.

She would even allow area eleven to secede from imperial rule to save Euphie and then reclaim it in the most bloody way imaginable to take revenge for her.

She heard a few gasps of surprise and looked up when Darlton called for her attention. She walked up to the window and saw a fog creeping over the lake's surface.

"I thought the weather conditions didn't allow for fogs" commented Cornelia in confusion

"They didn't your highness" confirmed Darlton though his face said he didn't have anymore answers either.

She thought about it and realized it had to be dry ice, a popular gimmick in movies. So someone was creating a fog to cover their approach but why?

If it had been Britannian military they would have asked for her permission first.

Unless they were trying out a risky plan and only wanted their faces to be known if it succeeded... Her blood boiled at the thought that some upstart was trying to use her sister as a jumping stone up the ranks.

But she couldn't do anything about it, if she interfered then she would spook the JLF and they had just proven that they could execute a hostage if they wanted to. If she went anywhere near them even to protect them they would execute all the hostages most likely.

She had no choice but to place Euphie's life in the hands of this daredevil. But if it failed, she was personally going to make sure he spent the rest of his life in unending agony.

* * *

**Kallen, kawaguchi lake hotel second floor**

Kallen was crawling through the ventilation shafts and was really uncomfortable. There wasn't much room to move and slowly pulling herself forward was a tiring task especially because she couldn't make a racket while doing it.

She had thought this would be the easy part after scaling the walls to the second floor and cutting the glass out of a window to gain entrance. They had successfully dodged the checkpoints so far but it was really exhausting.

It made her worry how her leader was doing behind her. She had followed him closely during the dive because she had been sure he knew where to go. But it hadn't taken her long to realize he was struggling just to keep up with them.

She had stayed behind while the rest of the group pulled ahead to keep an eye on him. She had carefully watched him before deciding he needed help. She had worried a bit about male ego getting in the way but after he got over his surprise he had allowed her to pull him forward without complaint.

She was glad her leader could be reasonable about practical things like that and didn't let pride get in the way. But his underwhelming condition was worrying because there weren't any breaks to catch your breath during a battle. She had heard stories from about other resistance cells through her friends. How they had tried to outrun the police but were caught because they ran out of breath.

She couldn't let that happen to Zero so if necessary she was going to sling him over her shoulder and carry him to safety by herself. She had eyed up his body and it seemed to be lightweight enough for her to manage.

She stopped once she got into position and waited for the others to catch up and wait as well. Once they did she listened to any noises that might indicate a guard.

As far as she could tell there was none as her leader had expected. According to him the JLF had only enough manpower to guard the entrance and the stairwells. There was probably wasn't another pair inside the elevator itself because of the constant threat that the britannians might cut the power. But they weren't going to use It anyway, so it didn't matter.

She popped open an air grid and snaked her body through the grid while holding the grid in her hands. Once she was only hanging by her knees she pulled up as if doing a crunch and handed the grid for the guy behind her to hold. She then grabbed the rims and allowed the rest of her legs to drop out of the grid. The sudden weight on her fingers nearly forced her to let go but she held on.

If she let go she would drop ungracefully to the ground and the noise might attract the guard from the stairwell.

She stabilized herself and then just let herself drop down gently. The height difference wasn't much so she didn't need to worry about the impact now that she hadn't had some momentum already built up,

Once she was safely on the ground and there was no sign from any guards she took back the grid and put it on the ground. She caught the next guy and helped him down and the next two afterwards until they took over.

She moved over to the door and gently opened it to take a peek at the hallway. It wouldn't be long before she had to leave this storeroom before it got too crowded anyway.

The coast was clear and she moved towards the elevator which was also clear. She then waited for the guy with the crowbars to wedge the doors open.

Once the doors were open they clicked carabineers to the cable to anchor themselves and started climbing up. Yet again she wondered how her leader was supposed to be doing this if he got tired from a little swim. She glanced down and saw him moving at a slow pace at the bottom of the group. He seemed to be hanging in there.

Eventually they reached the floor below the one with the hostages.

Their leader had explained that the floor above them would be crawling with guards and thus a death sentence to anyone who wanted to storm in there. So he had devised a complicated rescue plan.

"Alright" announced her leader through ragged breaths. He forcefully held it in to rattle off his instructions "Start planting the explosives and remember to stay away from the windows. The cameras can see you, meaning the JLF can see you and they will know we're here." as soon as he was finished he immediately started gasping for air again. A few guys looked at him worriedly but he waved them off.

Kallen acknowledged the order and got to work after her own breather. She had no problems attaching the directional explosives in a grid like manner that followed the guards most likely route.

Overall it was a simple job and provided the guards stuck to their routes it was going to be easy getting the hostages out. The directional explosives only took out what was directly above them and should spare the hostages for the most part.

Once they were done Zero called someone to check on the news to get an accurate picture of the current situation. "What, what do you mean she gave herself up!" yelled Zero hysterically before he calmed himself.

"Damn it our timetable moved up, there's no time to climb through the windows into the floor above after convincing Cornelia to shut off the news cameras for a while. That's going to take at least another fifteen minutes and Euphemia is moving directly towards the room Kusakabe is in. There are over a dozen men in there, we can't possibly storm that room and expect to get Euphemia out alive. Our only chance is to set off the explosives together with a frontal assault from the elevator."

He paused for a second "But what if… No this is our best shot." muttered Zero to himself.

Kallen sympathized with her leader at the same time as her mind boggled at the reason princess Euphemia could have possibly have had to give herself up.

She heard Zero call out for volunteers because the mission was more dangerous than he had initially told them. She spotted some reluctance among the men. So she boldly stepped forward and proudly said she would join him. "I'll join you, after all someone needs to protect your scrawny ass"

Her joke produced a few chuckles and more members stepped forward after finding their courage.

Soon enough she was in the back row of the elevator with her assault rifle. She would have preferred being in the front row, so she could have a clear line of sight. But zero had pulled her to the back and told her to stay put. She was right next to him so she could hear the faint instructions coming over the phone about the placements of enemy soldiers.

It seemed someone was analyzing the news for them as tactical data. Once the doors opened they spotted two guards slowly turning around at the sound. But everyone was frozen and didn't want to pull the trigger, to take a life, a Japanese life.

But Zero just raised his silenced pistol and calmly shot them in the head before they could respond. Kallen stared at the carnage for a second despite already seeing much worse. But this was Japanese blood and she was the one who was going to spill it this time, not protect it.

Zero nudged her and she snapped out of it and moved out with the others.

"Lets head to where Kusakabe is hiding, they will be there eventually." ordered Zero

She however had no clue where that was supposed to be but Zero lead the way.

He calmly walked forward and opened the first door to the right. He leaned in while slicing off a piece of the room with his gun. Slowly and methodically he cleared the room without ever exposing himself more than he needed to. It reminded her of her own gun drills during the weekend and she was soon backing him up followed by the rest.

They safely cleared room after room without ever stopping in a smooth manner. It wasn't as impressive as bursting through the door guns blazing.

The calm and controlled manner in which Zero did it however gave the impression he was just going for a walk and this was an ordinary thing. It gave her confidence to know her leader was undaunted at all by their adversaries. He actually kept up his phone conversation in whispered tones while he did it.

Eventually he gave them all a signal to halt at an intersection "Princess Euphemia is coming with two guards." he whispered at them.

Kallen wasn't sure how he knew it but she supposed his accomplice had seen them through a window or something.

She crouched and aimed her rifle where she expected the upper chests of the guards to appear and waited. It didn't take long before they walked right into their ambush and the guards were pumped full of lead before they could even draw.

"It's a pleasure to meet you princess Euphemia" greeted Zero calmly, despite the fact that the bodies hadn't finished bleeding out yet. The slowly growing pool of blood and the spatter on the wall were treated as normal pieces of furniture.

Princess Euphemia stared in fright at the bodies for a moment before she calmed down and returned the greeting "Likewise, euhm may I ask who you are?"

"I go by the name of Zero. I lead the Black Knights a group dedicated to justice and as such we decided to liberate the hostages."

Euphie's eyes wandered back to the blood splatter on the wall. Watching it slowly droop down to the floor. "I see, but how do you intend to do that?"

"Like this" Zero raised his arm and revealed a detonator in his hand and after everyone got a good look at it he pressed the button. For a second nothing happened but then it sounded like a room further up the path they had intersected had just crashed to the floor beneath them.

"That was the room Kusakabe was in and I just sent him on early retirement."

Euphie's eyes widened in fright "But now they will kill the hostages once they find out what happened to their leader!" She protested before another round of explosions rang out and caused the building to shudder.

"Hardly, they'll have a tough time doing anything considering they're dead. I rigged this floor with directional explosives and just armed them. By merely walking those guards obliterated themselves without harming the hostages."

"Then why didn't you do it sooner then?" asked Euphie

" Simple I needed to make sure you weren't anywhere near them. I heard you announced yourself and were being moved through the building. I had intended to snipe the guards with the hostages to prevent any possible collateral damage with the hostages but your actions forced my hand."

"So you would sacrifice them just because they are worth less than me?"

Kallen noticed a few Black knights tensing at her assumption she was worth more. It had been framed as a question but it how she said it wasn't too smart.

Zero scoffed "Off course not, all live is equal but if you died then princess Cornelia would wreak her vengeance on all the Japanese. She would kill thousands in your name because she views you to be worth thousands. Thus to save those lives I must place yours in front of theirs. I do not think you are worth more, but mere thoughts can't change the world and I need to deal with facts if I want to save anyone."

Princess Euphemia looked uncomfortable as if she knew what Zero was saying was the truth. Kallen was glad that the person she risked her life for at least wasn't a heartless bitch like the other nobles she had met. But to know that princess Cornelia really would have committed a genocide sent chills down her spine.

She hadn't cared about the britannians stuck in this building because the only one she knew had been that xenophobic bitch Nina Einstein and the rest of the student council of Soresi academy. She would have never expected their deaths to hold any real connection to her friends but apparently they really did.

She watched Zero sent a detachment to escort the other hostages. Kallen silently thanked him. That Einstein bitch would probably recognize her if she saw her. She wasn't sure it was on purpose but she was thankful either way.

She followed Zero and the princess as they walked to the elevator to bypass the JLF still guarding the stairwells that should be rushing towards them.

Speaking of the devil, she ran forward and put herself between Zero and her attackers and opened fire.

She could hear Zero pulling Euphemia behind him and opening fire as well before he called for reinforcements. She decided to wait for back up rather than taking a risk to take them out herself.

Ohgi and the others were still on the floor below and the elevator would bring them right behind the remaining JLF.

She crouched down and laid down suppressing fire in random intervals. Eventually she heard Ohgi's team rip through them with their assault rifles and breathed a sigh of relief.

"Lets get to the lift quickly."

Kallen nodded and pulled the princess along with her to the elevator.

* * *

**Temporary Britannian headquarters at the only remaining access way to the hotel. **

Guilford was worried, the rate at which princess Cornelia was grinding her teeth was a good indicator of her mood. And right now it was clearly in the pissed beyond all belief stage.

It was exactly this mood that prompted the actions that led to the rumors that she liked to bathe in the virgin blood of numbers. Absolutely preposterous off course but her ferocity that day gave enough credence to her bloodthirstiness that people actually believed it.

He could understand his princess' vexation though. He himself was having trouble restraining himself. But he had to wait for orders despite the fact that unwanted intruders had infiltrated the building and had captured princess Euphemia.

The lack of reporting in gave credence to the argument that they weren't glory hounds but a third-party altogether. His princess wasn't sure who these guys were and how to deal with them.

She still didn't want to storm in and risk losing her sister in the crossfire but she couldn't do nothing either. For now they had them surrounded but that couldn't last forever.

She had ordered extra units to guard the lake's shores but they hadn't arrived in sufficient numbers yet to completely seal it off.

But according to the princess they had swam across, meaning it would be enough for their purposes. He was proven wrong however when the hotel suddenly sunk into the ground when apparently the central support was destroyed

His princess's anguished scream of her little sister's name was like nails on a chalkboard for him. He hugged her to both console her and to prevent her from doing anything rash.

She ordered every unit forward to search the rubble for her sister before the dust cloud even settled.

He could hear the reluctance in Darlton's voice as he advised against it in fear of a possible ambush within the dust cloud. But Cornelia didn't care and just wanted to push forward.

She was only stopped when he pointed out that he saw something through the dust. This grabbed her attention and she too peered into it, desperate for some sign that her sister lived.

Then it settled and they could make out a dozen life rafts filled with hostages including the princess Euphemia. Guildford never felt more relieved than the moment that he saw the confused but alright face of princess Euphemia.

She meant a lot to his charge and him as well. She was almost like the little sister he never had.

But then the mysterious group who saved them started a speech. This caused Cornelia to grit her teeth once more because this new group which called her an oppressor was using her own sister as a meat shield.

She couldn't move on them until they had recovered the hostages and by then they could be long gone.

As expected the hostages recovery took so long that they couldn't follow the newly revealed black knights. But princess Cornelia had ordered him to take a squad and trace their route of escape anyway to look for clues.

* * *

Ohgi was worried, he could hear the faint screeching of land spinners in the distance. The sewer they were traveling through had enough offshoots that his pursuers had to backtrack a lot to figure out which one they had taken but their superior speed allowed them to make up for lost time regardless.

"Kallen if this keeps up those Sutherlands will catch up to us and we'll be sitting ducks."

He didn't like to admit it himself as it was likely to bring morale down but he had to face facts. They were traveling in trucks with no anti tank weapons to speak off. If it came to a fight it would be a one-sided massacre.

"Don't worry it'll be fine. You just have to trust me" reassured Zero

Ohgi wanted to scream at him but he realized he had no choice now, so he decided to stay quiet for the moment. Kallen gave a more convincing nod but he could see the anxiety in her eyes too.

He looked around and saw that some of the others didn't seem worried at all, like they didn't care whether they lived or died. He hoped they were just good actors because groups filled with those kinds of fanatics didn't last long. He would never forgive himself if he got Kallen killed by allowing her to join these madman.

He noticed there hadn't been any offshoots for a while and could hear the screeching gaining on him. He glanced back at Zero who just seemed to be studying a map carefully and talking on his walkie-talkie.

"Maybe we should head for the surface to lose them in the ghetto's" proposed Ohgi

"And risk another Shinjuku or do you think Cornelia will let us go without a fuss after chasing us this far." asked Zero rhetorically

Ohgi gritted his teeth at the grim reality presented to him. He didn't want to risk another massacre but he couldn't just accept death either. He fingered his pistol, if he could just draw and kill Zero. He could lead the others out and escape their pursuers, but those fanatics would surely resist and a gunfight was the last thing he needed right now.

He heard someone call out that they could see the Sutherlands now. He looked as well and stared at their 25 MM assualt rifles. It was too late no matter what he did, he was going to die now.

But then he heard Zero speak into his radio "They're in position, activate."

Ohgi had no clue what he was talking about, but then suddenly the roof behind them caved in and blocked the way.

He smiled at that, apparently his leader had another trick up his sleeve. With this they could get away.

"All right stop the trucks" ordered Zero and immediately the trucks started braking harshly.

Ohgi was nearly thrown out of his seat thanks to the sudden deceleration but he recovered quickly "What the hell do you think you're doing. Those britannians will shoot their way through that rubble in minutes. If we don't leave now we'll be sitting ducks again."

"Take a closer look at that rubble Ohgi."

Ohgi reluctantly did and noticed that from the gap in the ceiling there was now a grey liquid pouring in. it took a second for him to realize what it was "Cement?"

"Not just any kind of cement but quick drying cement."

"You're planning on encasing them in cement?" asked Ohgi aghast, he didn't like britannians but being buried alive was a nasty way to go.

"Off course not, that would take hours I merely want to disable their land spinners."

"Then why did you order us to stop then?"

"They don't know I can't waste hours standing here waiting around for them to get buried. Which means I can use it to intimidate them into coming out and handing those knightmares over to us" Zero explained proudly

Ohgi was stunned at the daring move. He would never have been able to turn the tables around like that, and even come out ahead in a hopeless situation.

Zero grabbed a megaphone and started his bullying "Pilots of the Sutherlands hear me, I am Zero. You have followed us and hunted us down as if we were criminals despite the fact that we saved the hostages. You do all this merely because we called you oppressors. With this very act you have proven my words true." he paused a second to let it sink in.

"However I will not consign you to death by entombment. I will be merciful, abandon your knightmares and surrender to us. And I will promise you will be treated with all the mercies expected off us by the treaty of Genoa."

There was a deafening silence before another speaker replied "We can just wait for reinforcements to come dig us out."

Zero countered "True if they knew where you were. I have jammed your signal for the last mile. It would take them days to find you and you'll run out of air before that. So surrender or choke to death!"

The knightmares tried blasting their way out but their assault rifles lacked the fire power to cut through the rubble quick enough. Any holes they made were quickly filled up with the cement and they were already slowing down from all the cement attached to their frames.

After another silence following their realization of their fate came their reply "I lord Guilford accept your offer." the tone in which he said it carried deep shame and regret.

"I accept your surrender, Q2 stop the cement and get the cranes in position"

Kallen looked up surprised at the Q2 designation and Ohgi could already see her thinking about who Q2 could possibly be.

* * *

Kallen escorted the pilots of the Sutherlands to a bus that was prepared for their use. They could drive it back to their commander themselves as soon as they were ready to leave.

Kallen would have preferred to just kill them but Zero had given his word and she recognized that he had to uphold it. Even if killing these elite pilots would be a victory for them today, it would weigh them down in the future when they had to make another deal.

But not everyone realized that. She could clearly make out Tamaki grumbling about it to the other recruits. But she didn't care enough to set him straight. She was more interested in the brand new Sutherlands that were being loaded onto flatbeds.

The rubble had been cleared after another round of directional explosives and additional trucks had arrived to carry the spoils of war. She didn't envy whoever had to scrape off all the cement but she couldn't wait to pilot one of those bad boys.

She had read the specs on those things and their response time was significantly better even if the speed and strength was only marginally improved. A skilled pilot like her could make it seem like she was twice as fast.

"Alright we're ready, Q1 let the POWs go and let's move out" commanded Zero

Kallen threw the keys over to Guilford and jumped on top of one of the flatbeds. She grabbed onto the knightmare for stability as they speeded away.

She could faintly overhear Ohgi explaining to Tamaki about how the britannians could be sending reinforcements to scour the area. They had to be gone before they arrived because the stationary frames were still no match for even ordinary glasgows in their state. But still she felt like the victory was all theirs for once despite the fact that they were running away yet again. And it was all thanks to their new leader Zero.

* * *

**Hotel room in Tokyo**

Lelouch looked at the media coverage of his stunt while Leila looked over inventory reports. She took a break to look over at what Lelouch was doing. She noticed him smiling at the news on the TV.

" So are you satisfied with the results?"

"I am, but this is only the beginning. I will plunge this world into even more chaos"

"To what point?" asked Leila so she could have something to report back to the EU but also because she wanted to know herself.

"To fan the flames of rebellion and invigorate the hearts of those who hide in fear of the empire's might"

Leila wondered if he was intending to incite rebellion in all the captured areas. If so then the council of forty would be ecstatic. They had already proven to love acceptable casualties by asking the Japanese to die in place of European soldiers. If all the numbers rebelled then there would be no need for European casualties at all, with the empire too busy squashing the rebellions.

"Do you intend to destroy the world?" asked C.C. as she walked in with her customary pizza with extra toppings.

Lelouch shook his head in the negative "I intend to destroy the corrupt system and create a gentler world for everyone."

"You realize that the people will resist you. Many will stand to lose too much in your new utopia and will fight to protect their dystopia. It may be flawed but it is all they know and love." questioned C.C.

Leila couldn't help but agree as she thought that the council of forty would resist themselves if their power was wrested from them.

Lelouch stretched out his right arm in a dramatic wave "If so then I will either convince them or brush them aside along with all the other filth. I can't allow a privileged few to profit of the misery of the masses."

"Then how do you intend to stop the world from fighting with one another?" asked C.C.

Leila didn't quite follow the non sequitur but Lelouch seemed unfazed.

"That's simple, the fighting will stop once someone wins."

"So you intend to rule the world yourself." concluded C.C. as she fell backwards on the bed. Uncaring that she was messing up the paperwork carefully arranged in stacks on top of it, paying mind only to the pizza box in her arms.

Lelouch frowned at his hard work going to waste and his ordered system being destroyed on a whim but said nothing about it. "No I will be too soaked in blood for the masses to accept my rule. I will search for my successor among those who abhor violence and genuinely seek a better world for everyone."

"You'll gamble the world away on a hunch then." summarized C.C. as she held a drooping slice of pizza to her mouth.

"Perhaps." allowed Lelouch grudgingly. But it was clear that C.C's argument had unsettled him. Allowing things to happen by chance wasn't Lelouch's style. "Anyways Leila how are the new Sutherlands?"

With the philosophical debate seemingly over Leila felt more at ease now that she was back In her comfort zone, the military. "They are fine for the most part but the cement has gotten into the inner workings of some of the Landspinners. It will be easier to just replace them than to pick out the cement and repair them."

"Hmm I see, we'll sell them to the JLF then in place of the glasgows I offered."

"Didn't I warn you against dealing with the JLF now that Cornelia is breathing down on them" she still hadn't trained enough of her recruits to be capable of standing against Cornelia in a pitched battle.

"I know but I can't let them fall without a fight because it would be the end of all resistance in the area. They are the symbol of the Japanese resistance and Cornelia would have targeted them first regardless to de-motivate the others. "

"So you intend to join our numbers to theirs?"

" Hardly, I got a measure of their general and he is a fool. If I try to join them they will only allow it if I take orders from them. If we do that then we'll all be walking towards our death. No I intend to obtain that weapon they used in the tunnel to the lake hotel. It showed impressive offensive power, it could be highly effective if I could hide it in-between buildings and lure enemy units into its range."

"True but I doubt the goddess of victory will let her troops continue to be caught unawares."

"Indeed, one or two uses is all that can be expected out of their current design" acknowledged Lelouch "But I have some alterations in mind that will make them a force to be reckoned with."

"I doubt general Katase will be eager to see you after you just slaughtered his men" commented Leila

"True" admitted Lelouch "I'll have Kaguya act as the mediator in our little negotiation"

"Do you think she'll be any happier with you crushing Japan's only hope at liberation?" asked C.C.

"You heard her when we met C.C. She doesn't believe the JLF can free Japan and is placing her bet on me. So long as I explain myself I expect no problems from her"


	23. A Slippery Slope

**Chapter Twenty-three A Slippery Slope**

Kallen once again put on her Black Knights uniform after a tiring day at school.

She had to restrain herself several times today to prevent herself from punching some random girl in the face. She was used to the normal derogatory comments about the Japanese but it got personal when they started talking down on the Black Knights.

One girl even called her great leader a joker in a clown suit. The thought of numbers being their equals was simply laughable to them. All they saw were filthy ingrates without basic education. Completely ignoring that their Emperor had reduced them to that.

The contrast only made him stand out more though as a beacon of justice. Plenty of people hadn't agreed with the JLF nor did they want to join the honorary system. But everyone wanted to live the fairy tale of being a knight of justice.

She already had gotten several texts in congratulations from her subordinates in the economic division. So apparently his message was going over well with the Japanese people who were more moderate. But those moderates weren't going to free her nation, typically only the extremists were willing to put up a fight.

She supposed he was thinking ahead by broadening his base of support as much as possible. It would certainly make things easier once they took back the country. If they had to defend themselves from internal threats as well as external, then Japan wouldn't exist for more than a few months before it was re-conquered.

She walked out of the locker room into the main base and was struck speech less. "Ohgi any particular reason why you're playing with life-sized dolls who are naked."

She especially had trouble forgiving him for having his hand on the mannequin's left breast. If she wasn't a commanding officer and other soldiers weren't around she probably would have hit him already.

"This isn't what you think, it was Zero's orders!" Ohgi immediately defended.

"Uh huh, Zero ordered you to do this huh?" she said unconvinced as she glared at the offending hand that still hadn't moved.

Ohgi followed her glare and as soon as he realized what he was doing immediately removed his hand. In his haste he accidentally dropped the mannequin. He instantly bended back over to pick it back up and inspected it for damage.

"Zero ordered us to dress these mannequins in the Black Knights uniform. I think he is planning to use them at some point as a diversion so we can escape." said Ohgi as he made sure the head was still firmly attached.

Kallen was actually satisfied with that explanation because it seemed like something their leader would do. "Any particular reason why most of the mannequins are female" asked Kallen to check one last thing that was bugging her.

"The company that makes them mostly produce female ones because there are more clothing stores aimed at girls than men. So don't blame me, blame every guy that hates shopping. " explained Ohgi calmly now that it seemed that she wasn't going to hit him.

"Okay but why are you dressing them yourself and not some flunkies. Don't you have something better to do?"

Kallen decided to ignore the possibility of just ordering more male mannequins even if they had to wait longer. Maybe Zero was in a hurry or Ohgi made a mistake. It didn't matter anymore. From a distance the enemy couldn't tell their gender any more than they could recognize them as dolls. If they could, then they were already useless.

"No not really, Q2 has the rest doing something else while Zero is going over the recruitment requests personally."

"Q2?" asked Kallen hoping she'd learn more about the mystery accomplice

"Yeah apparently she's Zero's second in command though she hasn't shown her face either."

"How many more masked leaders are going to pop out of the woodwork." grumbled Kallen good-naturedly. Though she a small part of her charted out her demotion in authority inside her head.

"I think she's the last one. Apparently Zero got her to defect but she's keeping her face a secret to prevent her home country from being dragged into a war with Britannia. "

"A foreigner huh, any idea where she's from?"

"Nah she doesn't speak Japanese well, so she relies more on Britannian to get her point across. It's fluent enough to make sense of it but you can tell it isn't her native language. So that's a relief. My guess is she's European and was the one who convinced the others to train us for a few weeks."

"European huh?" Kallen tried to dredge up half forgotten memories "There was a lot of talk before the invasion about getting the foreign powers to help us but nothing ever came off it. But now four years later we're finally seeing some help and they're too scared to show their face." commented Kallen with suppressed hostility

"They were scared by the knightmares and preferred to build up their forces while they threw us to the wolves to buy time" explained Ohgi with a shrug.

"They had ten years to prepare and they're still abandoning the Africans." countered Kallen heatedly. "They're too self-interested and short-sighted if they think Britannia won't come for them eventually."

Ohgi slipped the right arm of his mannequin into a Black knight's jacket. "That may be so but you have to remember that we weren't particularly popular back then either. We were xenophobic and still are, and played countries out against each other. We were arrogant with the belief that none of the three super powers would dare harm us with us sitting on top of the world's supply of sakuradite. The Kururugi regime assured us that the other two would declare war on the attacker to protect the status quo and that one of them couldn't beat both at the same time." he lectured like she was one of his students while completely sidestepping the African issue. Though she supposed the same might apply. Things weren't as simple as they looked.

She still scoffed though "A deterrent huh, but in the end neither the Chinese or the Europeans intervened." if they weren't such pussies than her Japan might still be free. Sometimes you needed to look beyond your petty problems to do what's right rather than what was easy.

"I didn't quite follow it myself at the time but somehow prince Schneizel used a combination of charm, bribes and show of force to convince them to stay quiet. One news show compared it to a game of chicken. Both the EU and the Chinese federation weren't prepared to declare war without the other declaring it first. So by being more willing to accept losses in the war and telling them the other wouldn't declare war or would sue for peace quickly, prince Schneizel managed to get them to back off."

Kallen groaned "That's just stupid, even little kids could tell you that you can't win if you aren't prepared to get your hands dirty and take a risk."

Ohgi gave her a dissappointed look "A few grass stains and thousands of casualties are two different things Kallen. Naoto and I deliberated days on end about just robbing a Britannian building. We knew our best friends could get killed but we had to weigh it against the people we could help." Ohgi stopped for a moment as if deciding whether he should continue. Kallen was almost tempted to prod him when he continued "We actually thought about robbing the hospital to save a dying eleven year old. But we had to abort because there were too many guards there." He left unsaid that they probably let the kid die.

"Huh you never told me about that?" Kallen said in stunned wonder.

"We didn't want you losing your head and try to steal the medicine by yourself. The hospital was guarded by trigger happy purists. They wouldn't have hesitated in killing us and spinning it to make us out as monsters."

"I guess." admitted Kallen though she didn't like being treated like a child.

"Anyways Kallen I need you to go down to the docks and pick up some containers."

"They're not more dolls for your little hobby, are they?" joked Kallen

Ohgi narrowed his eyes a bit because the joke was getting old "No Zero said he had some custom weapons shipped over and he wanted to test them out this weekend before putting them in the field."

"Custom weapons really what kind?" Kallen asked excitedly, nothing got her interest more than some shiny new toy to obliterate Britannia with.

"It's a spear for knightmares, apparently it's based on the new lances used by princess Cornelia but are less durable and a throwaway item."

That dampened Kallen's spirit a bit "Well I suppose even inferior weapons will be useful. I read that it's almost suicide to go up against that new lance of theirs with only a stun tonfa."

Ohgi grimaced "It'll still be suicide. Glasgows don't have the response times to get in close. It's just less of a death sentence compared to the stun tonfa."

"Sutherlands aren't much better." countered Kallen though she wasn't really disputing the point.

Ohgi just nodded and ignored her. He seemed too busy putting pants on the mannequin to debate the finer points of tactical weapons. Ahh priorities. "Oh before I forget Zero said something about them being flammable so make sure you drive carefully."

Kallen looked at him like he was an idiot "You know I don't have a driver's license right?" driving carefully was a given. She couldn't afford the cops pulling her over. "Shouldn't you give this job to somebody else?"

"I would, if I could. But everyone else is busy except Tamaki." They both imagined for a second what would happen if they entrusted it to Tamaki. Strangely helicopters circling a crash site on the six o clock news featured in both their day dreams. "And you look Britannian so they might leave you alone." defended Ohgi

"Right, I'll be moving out then." concluded Kallen and walked towards the loading area to use one of the trucks in the motor pool.

"Hey wait up Kallen!" Ohgi called from behind

Kallen turned and wondered what else he was going to say. He held up a clipboard with a some shipment orders attached by the looks of it. "Here, you need the proper paperwork or else they won't release the containers to you. Heck you wouldn't even know which one you needed."

Kallen blushed in embarrassment and mumbled an apology. Ohgi laughed it off and sent her on her way.

* * *

**Suzaku kururugi **

He did the math again but he arrived at the same conclusion. He didn't have enough money to pay his medical bills even if he skimped on food to the extreme. Sighing to himself, he got up to drink another glass of water to silence his grumbling stomach.

The cold water reinvigorated him but one glance at his stack of bills was enough to bring it down. He understood that medical attention was expensive especially for a near fatal wound like he had. But still he wondered how other Japanese could afford such high costs.

If he didn't cough up the money soon then he would be incurring extra costs for being late and he knew well enough once that happened the extra costs alone would permanently put him into debt.

He could take out a loan but the only places that accepted honorary britannians had outrageously high interests rates. He knew he was supposed to be treated equally to common britannians but the bank saw him as less credit worthy despite his new status.

He was left with only two options now to pay the bills and that was to beg his family for a loan or take part in a medical study. He had read that he could earn a thousand pounds in just a few days if he was willing to live with the slim chance of side effects.

Another pang of hunger brought a grimace to his face. He sighed in resignation.

With a newfound resolution he signed his name on the official medical papers that declared he was willing to accept the risks.

He wasn't happy about it but it was better than begging for a handout from those who would have sent thousands to their deaths merely to preserve the right to drink tea a particular way.

After he was done worrying about money he turned his attention back towards his career prospects. He had been given a demerit for letting the terrorists get away and was in the back of the line for a promotion behind all the other honorary britannians. The chances of one of them getting promoted was already slim. So he felt particularly frustrated with his lack of progress.

But he couldn't have killed Lelouch even if Lelouch hated him now. It had been the right thing to do, and he wasn't going to betray that for a quick promotion. Besides the media had removed prince Clovis and his royal guard from power. So despite what anyone else may say, the system did work.

He wasn't happy about the thousands of Japanese deaths but this proved that even the Britannians couldn't break the rules without consequences even if they were a prince. Even better had been the news that a princess stood up for another hostage during the lake hotel incident in Kawaguchi.

It just proved his theory that there were good people at the top of the Britannian empire. He almost wanted to go to Kaguya's house just to rub it in her face but that would be petty.

His musings were disturbed when his cell phone rang. He immediately rushed to pick it up. He had no friends that would call him, only work.

"Hello this is private Suzaku Kururugi."

"Private you are being reassigned to the intelligence division. You'll be given a promotion and tasked in rooting out any subversive elements against the Britannian government."

Suzaku gasped, he was being ordered to spy on his own people.

But he steeled himself, he was going to target the terrorists directly and stop them before they could hurt any innocent civilians. If anything this was exactly what he had been hoping for. He just had to suppress the annoying accusation that he was being a traitor to his own people to the back of his mind.

"Thank you sir I won't let you down." He enthusiastically accepted with forced cheer.

"Make sure that you don't, report to base tomorrow at 8:00 sharp." the line went dead.

Suzaku removed the phone from his ear and stared at it for a while "I guess I'll be making enough money to pay for those bills after all."

He smiled at how things managed to work out in the end.

* * *

**Viceroy palace **

Cornelia was seated at the head of a long table, at her sides were Darlton and Guilford. She had specifically requested a seat for them so their voice could be heard without breaking decorum. She had the glaston knights to her back so she didn't need to worry about someone attacking her. Even if her knight was too slow to react because he was seated.

At the rest of the table was a collection of high-ranking civil servants and representatives from the private sector.

She had called for this meeting to gather information, but none of the things these nobles wanted to say interested her. She already knew the facts she just wanted to know how the nobles would present them. In short it was a test of their trustworthiness and competence.

So far they had been failing miserably despite her no-nonsense attitude. She already had marked down three-quarters of the members for replacement. She was only still deliberating on the rest because they had been rather quiet during the meeting.

Luckily the meeting finally turned to something she was rather interested in. "Any word on this new group the Black Knights?" asked the minister of education

Cornelia was surprised that he of all people brought it up but answered nonetheless "They seem to be focussed on taking out petty criminals and specifically refrain dealers for the moment. They are using it as a way to spread their propaganda that they are the defenders of the weak and thus gain the support of the people."

"Well if they want to do our jobs for us why not let them. Who cares what a few elevens think." replied the transportation minister who had already been marked for replacement.

Cornelia was annoyed by the short-sightedness of the man. Though she wondered why he didn't want the police to step up their measures "We can't let them continue because it undermines our authority. They are blatantly mocking us and if we let it fester they will only grow more powerful. I have read several after action reports based on what the drug dealers said, and I think they are also using it as a rehearsal for the real thing."

Duke Caldera scoffed "I read them as well but they only used small arms in all of their assaults. They are no threat to our knightmares no matter how well-trained they are."

"His lordship forgets the success the Berbers had with small arms against us in the desert." warned Darlton though he had never actually seen a Berber ambush or even heard of a survivor of a Berber ambush.

"I still think that's merely propaganda from the Africans to scare us off. They probably buried signal jammers and mines in those sands." countered one of the nobles who believed himself to be a military man.

Cornelia sighed "I agree but we have tested the sand up to the depth mines wouldn't be effective anymore. But still we keep on losing men during standard patrols on tested sand. We have no choice but to work under the assumption that guerrilla forces are penetrating our lines and retreat before we can respond for now."

She actually had ordered her engineers to dig beyond the effective depth of traditional landmines in case there had been a newer and stronger version. Her assumption had paid off and she had found a crisscrossing network of pipes that could blast enough air out, to loosen the sand and bury the pilot alive.

The problem had been figuring out how far the grid extended and how to neutralize it without having to dig up the whole desert. She didn't even want to contemplate how many lives would be lost in removing the pipes around one of their entrenched forts.

But the worst part had been interrogating former officials to find out that her little brother's ghost still haunted the Empire. She had trouble believing a ten-year old managed to plan and construct a enormous trap at the same time as he brought down the Empire economically but the facts didn't change.

All the officials said they had been bribed seven years ago by a representative of Lelouch. Well they didn't name Lelouch but she recognized the features of Ruben Ashford when she heard them or Jeremiah for that matter. Dark green hair wasn't that common.

But the knowledge that the prince's revenge wasn't over, was classified as top-secret. So she couldn't divulge it to these fools. If she did, then it would most likely be in the newspapers tomorrow morning.

Just the mere whisper that her little brother was alive and coming back with a vengeance could incite riots in recently captured areas.

She ignored the looks the nobles were giving her that were implying she was a fool to believe such nonsense. It was too tame to be considered disrespectful and she couldn't tell them differently. "The military will be providing support for the police in cleaning up this refrain epidemic." she ordered

"Your highness with all due respect if you do that it will only cause more confusion amongst the ranks. And military personnel are poorly equipped to handle investigations." countered the same noble from the private sector.

"That may be so, but we we'll need more boots on the ground to turn this thing around. Darlton will set up a matrix style chain of command to iron out any confusion that may arise."

Darlton added "I've also reassigned all honorary britannians to the intelligence division for information gathering. Our own spies can't make any progress here because they stick out like sore thumbs. One of the primary reasons why terrorism has kept on festering here is inadequate use of the intelligence division.

I expect to be seeing results on where their main hideouts are soon. Thanks to the stunt Zero pulled other groups are recruiting heavily to step up their activities allowing our new spies to infiltrate."

"Tch we shouldn't have to rely on those monkeys. If they just stopped making trouble and just accepted their fate" grumbled one of the nobles.

* * *

**During Zero****'****s speech **

**Inoue, original member of the Shinjuku resistance. **

It hadn't been long but Inoue nonetheless just wanted to get it over with. He wasn't saying anything she didn't already know. She would have happily nailed any refrain dealer to the wall, without needing an explanation.

But then came a shocking 'By the way comment' that really drove home how corrupt their society had become and it was phrased so innocently.

Mandatory minimums.

She never blinked twice at the fact that refrain users got sentenced to twenty years in jail. Sure it was harsh and excessive but what did you expect from Britannia.

That is, until she heard that powdered drugs and pills had a lower mandatory minimum. And coincidentally powdered drugs and pills were favored by Britannians while Japanese took refrain.

It was undeniably racist but dressed up so prettily, that no one would think to question it.

They hid behind their rhetoric of refrain being a national epidemic to justify the jail sentence but simultaneously did nothing against it.

The police were corrupt and incompetent, which led to them filling the jails full of innocent victims while letting the dealers go.

Heck, she heard that they even planted evidence sometimes, in hopes of converting the victim into a confidential informant.

Her fellow countrymen were being coerced to spy on each other, and she hadn't even known they were being targeted _specifically_.

* * *

**Docks**

Tamaki and his team sneaked closer towards the warehouse where the refrain production facility supposedly was located. "Tch I still don't see why we don't use those new drilling lances to bust our way in there rather than using explosives."

"Finally realized you aren't bullet proof captain." joked one of his squad mates. Which got a suppressed laugh out of the others "But yeah it would be a lot safer for us. No chance of catching a stray bullet in a knightmare." he agreed

Tamaki ignored the dig. "It's like Zero doesn't even know how to use all the equipment that he's got. Did you know we sold fifty knightmare frames, including those new Sutherlands to the JLF when we could have used them right now!" grumbled Tamaki some more now that he had an audience.

"For real?' gasped another squad mate "And he actually has us playing with dolls while he has enough firepower to attack an army base!"

Tamaki nodded in agreement "The guy is paranoid and overly cautious. We should just charge in there and show them what real Japanese can do!"

His radio suddenly emitted static before a voice came on "P2 are you in position?"

Tamaki flipped his radio on "Yeah I'm here" he confirmed reluctantly

A silence stretched on for a while. No doubt other squads were reporting in.

"Good, commence operation!" ordered Zero

Tamaki gripped his rifle and shouted "Let's go boys!"

He charged forwards toward the warehouse while a sniper team took out anyone close to the windows. Once they were up against the wall, they duck taped some kind of explosive in the shape of a wire to the wall in a square figure.

"Alright everyone stand back!" said his explosive expert.

Tamaki knew better than to ignore that advice and ran some distance away and crouched with his back to the wire.

He heard a loud boom and the crumbling sound of pieces of the wall falling to the ground. He turned and led his men through the breach while more booms went off in the distance.

"Looks like we got a lead on the other teams" boasted Tamaki proudly.

He however immediately had to take cover when the drug dealers recovered from the forced entry. "Shit! Use flash bangs!" ordered Tamaki

One by one the team threw their flash bangs though Tamaki had to struggle with throwing his, it somehow got stuck on his shirt.

Once their opponents were blind and deaf, Tamaki bravely led the assault against the scum that preyed upon innocent Japanese.

He crouched down and cleared the work stations one by one as he moved in between them. He found one drug dealer on the ground clutching his face.

He decided to taunt him "Stings doesn't it." the drug dealer snapped his head towards him and drew his gun in an instant. Tamaki panicked and fired wildly at the drug dealer.

After several rounds spread all over the dealer's body and the ground Tamaki finally calmed down "Whew that was a close one."

He rubbed his face as a nervous tick and noticed it felt wet. His eyes widened and he held up his hand in front of his face. It wasn't just wet, it was red! Meaning it was his blood…

Tamaki felt like cussing up a storm at the realization that he almost had his head blown off.

He grumbled even more about Zero being too stingy about knightmares. He could have died tonight! He was definitely going to give Kallen an earful. She needed to talk some sense into their leader.

"P2 is there a problem, you've missed your check in time?" called Zero over the radio

Tamaki decided not to mention his near decapitation to save face "Just got held up a bit, we're doing fine. But we could be doing better if you spared us a knightmare!"

He grumbled even more when he didn't get a response. As usual he got no respect from anybody. He wished Ohgi was still in charge of missions, at least he appreciated his mad skills.

He continued his sweep and this time put two rounds in the dealers before mocking them. Eventually the constant popping sounds around him quieted down signaling the end to the gun fight. He looked up to see where his comrades where.

"Does anyone have eyes on the objective?" asked one of his squad mates once the dust settled.

"Yeah where's the money?" asked Tamaki crudely

The whole point had been to rob their drug stash to buy more knightmares with or something. Though that didn't make sense because they just sold their knightmares. So they had to have enough money now, and why would they sell the knightmares if they needed them?

"Hey guys what are we going to use the money for again?"

His squad had been joined by Ohgi and his team during his pondering and they all gave him 'are you stupid' looks

It was pissing him off and he really wanted to shut them up "Hey what are you looking at me for!" He shouted angrily to get them to back off.

Ohgi sighed at his actions "We need it to buy more supplies in general for the future. Once we go out in the open we can't expect to continue our businesses and our costs will skyrocket with having to replace knightmares constantly. But mostly this is live practice for when we go up against Britannia. Zero wants everyone to have some experience so we don't freeze up during critical moments."

"Okay but why do we have to do it on foot, don't tell me Zero expects us to fight Britannia on foot?" asked Tamaki indignantly. The dried up blood on his fingertips hadn't slipped his mind.

"Off course not but we can't move a dozen knightmares around in the city. The military would descend down upon us with its entire garrison. We can't afford to battle it out with them with fresh chains of command. We need to learn to trust each other and work together in sync."

Ohgi's radio strapped to his vest crackled to life "N1 have you secured the objective"

Ohgi held down the button on his radio to give Zero an answer "This is N1, no we haven't found it yet but we'll keep looking."

"No we're retreating, P7 has spotted the knightmare police on route. If we stay here any longer we'll be forced to fight off the police and then the military. Q1 will run interference while you retreat back to point B17."

"Roger that Zero!" confirmed Ohgi

Tamaki noticed a few Black Knights giving him the stink eye because he held them up with his question. Though it hadn't made much of a difference and they could have kept on searching while Ohgi explained, it wasn't his fault.

"Are the explosives ready?" asked Ohgi to one of his team mates

"Yeah they're all set, just gotta press this button and this whole lab will go up in smoke." replied Ohgi's explosive expert before mumbling to himself "I wonder if the refrain will give my fire a pretty color?"

Tamaki decided to get away from the pyrotechnic guy. The way that guy talked gave him the creeps. Whenever he opened his mouth about fire, it sounded like it was a lover's caress or something.

* * *

**Kallen**

Kallen gritted her teeth as she fought two against one in her Sutherland. Zero had been kind enough to keep one of the Sutherlands back from his deal with the JLF.

Thanks to that she could beat the opposing glasgows easily in close quarters. Getting that close was a problem though. She strafed to the left as she dodged a hail of bullets. She grabbed a random crate and held it in front of her as a makeshift shield as she renewed her charge.

Her assault rifle sent 25MM streamers at her enemies but their riot shields blocked them with ease. Well that was an over exaggeration but at this rate it would take five whole minutes to chip away at it. Which was practically a life time on the battle field.

She wished she could get in close to pop a chaos grenade at them or just close enough to hit them with her stun tonfa period. She reached them but only got in a few hits on their shield before her cover disintegrated and they pulled back.

"Q1 I am authorizing the use of the thermal drilling lance but make sure they don't live long enough to tell their base about it!" ordered Zero over the radio.

Kallen grinned wickedly at the good news "Roger that Zero." She pulled back to her starting position. As expected the knightmare police followed convinced they now had her on the run.

She only smiled more because now she didn't have to worry about them going after her comrades. In under a minute she was standing next to the truck that had carried her frame but she ignored it in favor of the other one that carried the lance.

Luckily or by Zero's orders the door of the trailer was already open allowing her to reach inside easily and pull out the lance.

It took her a moment to adjust to the new weight but once she did, she slammed her foot down on the gas to charge at the glasgows once more. She grabbed a random car of the road to use as a makeshift shield once more and to conceal her new weapon.

She could hear the bullets rip through the car and before long the car itself exploded but her knightmare only suffered cosmetic damage. She drove up to one of them yet again and he just put up his shield in-between them, confident it would hold her back while his partner shot her from behind.

She apologized just before she thrust her spear forward and hit the drilling button. The spear revved up and as soon as it made contact with the shield it cracked it wide open.

She grinned at all the sparks that were flying and the groaning of metal as it pierced through it and made its way to the knightmare itself.

The enemy pilot screamed in surprise as his shield got obliterated and the spear made a straight beeline for his cockpit. Without mercy she drove it in deeper all the way through the cockpit before it could eject.

Zero said no witnesses so she would follow orders, there was no way she was letting the brits copy this bad boy or develop countermeasures. For that reason she wasn't even using the special feature that really made her day.

But it still felt good to use it on an actual knightmare rather than just simulators and wooden targets in the countryside.

She crouched down behind the car to hide the lance once more while the Glasgow's partner came at her, screaming bloody murder. His pleas about getting revenge fell on deaf ears, while she waited for the perfect moment to turn around and impale him on his own strength.

While she waited she spotted some drug junkies being guided out of the warehouse by Ohgi and his team, before they detonated the building. Idly her cameras zoomed in on them and she noticed one junkie in particular, her mother.

Her eyes widened at the sight of her useless mother jumping around without a care in the world with the biggest smile on her face she had ever seen.

She was so absorbed in her melancholic daydream that she completely missed the critical hits the Glasgow was scoring on her Sutherland. Only when he rammed her with his shield and brought her to the ground did she get snapped from her daydream.

"What the, get off me you bastard!" Kallen desperately tried to right the Sutherland and get it back on its feet or at least hurt the bastard on top of her but she was pinned down.

He kept on firing on her from close range and she couldn't even eject with her cockpit facing the ground. She knew she was going to die without help and there wasn't another knightmare on site with them. Zero had trusted her to be enough as back up but she had let him down. She had let everyone down.

But still she couldn't stop watching her monitor showing her mother happily mumbling about something. She amplified her external microphones and gasped as she realized her mother was talking to her when she was smaller.

Dozens of realization crashed into her about why her mother stayed in her abusive household and why she used refrain to begin with. Not to mention for how long it had been going on. Loss of motor function was a side effect of long-term refrain use. She didn't remember her mother being clumsy when she was little. This meant she had been doing refrain for years now, just to stay connected to the only happiness she ever knew.

That realization along with the fact that she purposely ignored her whenever possible and verbally abused her killed her inside.

She could faintly make out Zero hailing her on the radio, but didn't care at the moment.

Her attention was grabbed however when an explosion pushed the Glasgow of her. The shift In balance caused the shots from its assault rifle to go off target.

Somehow one of them landed near her mother and the impact sent up a lot of small rocks in all directions.

Kallen barely believed her eyes, as she witnessed her mother get torn to shreds still with that big goofy smile on her face.

Tears streamed down her face at the realization that all the things she wanted to say to her mother became impossible. Her mother had died thinking she hated her. She sobbed uncontrollably because of emotions, she had trouble even grasping.

But one thought did come to the forefront, who the hell killed her mother? She blinked back her tears for now to make room for unbridled rage. She picked up the lance and pierced the glasgow's cockpit slowly and activated the special feature.

The outer layers of the lance ignited and heated up as the thermite inside it burned up. The lance was now over three thousand degrees hot and she was holding it right next to the pilot but she didn't push in. Instead she kept him pinned while molten metal slowly dripped into the frame and fried the pilot alive.

She listened to his death screams like one would to a classical piece of Bach or Chopin. But before she knew it the sounds stopped and she was brought down from her reverie.

Once more the demanding and worried voices of her comrades broke through the fog clouding her mind. She absent-mindedly gave a reassurance that she was fine and let Zero salvage the operation.

She tried to distract herself by focusing on the inane chatter, some said she was too brutal, others criticized her for the unnecessary use of a secret weapon. Some just downright called her an idiot for standing still and letting herself get clobbered.

She had nothing to say because they were right and she wouldn't even protest if Zero took away her designation of Q1. She had no right to be deemed the strongest when she failed so miserably on the field and in real life.

Her focus was drawn when Tamaki spoke up because he was always good for a laugh and she sorely needed one right now.

"Did you see me you guys, I sure showed that brit cop what for. I nailed him right in the head without him even noticing me." He boasted while still holding a RPG proudly.

Kallen thought she ought to thank Tamaki for saving her but then she realized that because the Glasgow was hit in the head it slid off her and fired wildly. Meaning indirectly, Tamaki killed her mother...

The familiar feeling of rage returned and Kallen wholeheartedly welcomed the feeling over dwelling in despair.

"I'll kill you, you bastard" raged Kallen and grabbed her spear and threw it towards Tamaki before anyone could stop her.

Tamaki barely had time to cuss before the spear burned away half his body upon contact. His last words were "What the...?" before he passed away. His dying scream didn't count.

Immediately everyone started screaming and swearing up a storm and some even started shooting at her but she didn't care. She killed the ones responsible for killing her mother and that was all that mattered, right?

Right, she served justice right?

Oh god! She just killed one of her best friends. Someone she had known since she was still playing around with dolls. Her older brother's trustworthy sidekick and the clown that always cheered her up when she was down.

Zero's voice cut through the chaos as he ordered everyone to calm down and prepare for ex-filtration and to take Tamaki's corpse for burial.

"Kallen please exit the knightmare calmly I promise I won't hurt you and will listen to your side of the story once we escape from here, the military is already on its way."

Kallen nodded dumbly and opened the cockpit. She allowed herself to be pulled out by Ohgi. She hardly noticed him throwing her over his shoulder, she felt numb all over.

From the corner of her eye she noticed Sugiyama climb into the Sutherland to pilot it back to the truck.

"I'm sorry Ohgi, I didn't mean to. I just lost control. I thought he killed my mother." She muttered incoherently

Ohgi just shushed her and reassured her he didn't blame her. Though she could hear him crying as well. She didn't want to call him on it, both because men liked to be macho about it and because she didn't want to call his bluff and hear his accusations.

Ohgi had to hate her now, all her friends had to hate her. She couldn't bear to hear it, but at the same time she craved being punished more than anything. She needed someone to yell at her and then forgive her.

"Don't worry Kallen we'll talk this out once we get home." Ohgi once more reassured.

Kallen wanted to scream at him that no amount of talking could ever fix this, but she just fell silent and let herself be carried away.


	24. Feeling Radioactive

**Chapter Twenty Four Feeling Radioactive. **

**AN This chapter is released ahead of schedule so I can rant about something. You can thank fanfiction guidelines. **

**Black Knights headquarters, Zero****'****s room. **

**C.C.**

The door slammed open and was slammed shut with equal ferocity. C.C. looked up briefly before her attention drifted back to the pizza box in her lap.

"Well that was a right mess." grumbled Lelouch more to himself than to her. Though it was a conversation starter nonetheless.

"It could have been worse." offered C.C. absent-mindedly with a warm slice of pizza in hand. Clearly valuing eating her slice more than hearing him out. Ignoring him outright however could have provoked more stubborn attempts to get an answer. So she'd humored him.

"You haven't even heard what went wrong." retorted Lelouch as he started pacing in the room.

C.C took her time to chew. Inhaling pizza without savoring it was a crime against humanity.

After licking her dainty little fingers and another glance to check that, sadly yes, this was the last slice for now. She turned to Lelouch. "It's a universal law that everything can get worse, so I don't need to. And besides people take comfort in knowing at least they're doing better than others, so I thought it could help."

Lelouch seemed to have almost forgotten her in his agitated pacing. She didn't really blame him. She was just glad he respected her 'pizza time' enough to let her finish. He looked momentarily confused what she was on about since it had been a few minutes.

"Thanks for the perspective check, but I don't need it. My ace just lost it somehow, and ended up killing her friend. I somehow need to convince her, it's okay, and get her back on track." Lelouch explained. Though he did seem to calm down slightly. But that probably had more to do with hammering down a plan of action than anything else.

"Hmm that may be difficult." acknowledged C.C.

Kallen was a hot pressure cooker full of guilt, rage, passion, determination and sorrow, with a fierce temper to boot. She needed justification more than anyone else to release her violent urges and sooth her conscience. And buying into Lelouch's promises did that. But killing her friend…

Kallen couldn't justify that with her current mindset. She was an idealist that accepted a high cost to achieve that ideal. But killing someone dear to her when it served no point.

Even if she single-handedly killed the entire Britannian military that single death would weigh more on her conscience than that.

Zero spoke up "So far the only solution I got, is to channel her every emotion into rage. She already seems to blame Britannia for everything, so it might work."

It had potential C.C. admitted. Though the thought of Kallen ever finding out her Zero was actually a britannian wasn't pretty. C.C. might be forced to kill her.

Good thing Lelouch hadn't geassed her yet. So there was that. But a memory wipe was a bit of a last resort. It didn't change the core problem. She was bound to find out again eventually.

For now though a distraction was in order. Lelouch needed to loosen up and calm down. He was too tense and if Kallen saw that then she could read the wrong things into it. She needed to be punished for her own peace of mind but Lelouch needed to relax and comfort her at a moment's notice as well. He couldn't if his agitation was real.

"You're actually saying Britannia isn't the root of all evil, how unlike you."

Lelouch snorted in disgust "Hardly, it just likes to breed it within its borders and research new ways to be evil."

Yes, yes the culture was at fault not the people they didn't know any better. His father was solely to blame and all that. She believed that to be naïve, even if Lelouch included the nobility in his wrath. The commoners went along with it way too easily.

No point in convincing him of that now though. Right now she needed to weird him out. Completely crash his thought processes and force him to reboot.

C.C. twisted his words "So you're declaring your father to be a god of evilness? You're more arrogant than i thought."

Lelouch's mouth opened and closed again. His brows furrowed before he just gave up "What are you on about witch?"

C.C smiled as he once again got lured into her pace. "Well, you referred to yourself as a demon before. I thought you just referred to how many people you killed for your goals. But now I think it might actually be a god complex you have. I wonder is your title the prince of evil or is demon more appropriate?"

"Enough jokes I'm being serious!" snapped Lelouch in irritation.

"So am I, everyone within that country worships your father and if they are all researching evil and everything they do is inspired by his ideology. Then he must be evil himself." she rested her finger on her chin in a contemplating gesture for a moment "You did call him the devil incarnate once, so by calling yourself a demon are you trying to claim some kind of father and son bond?"

It was a very convoluted comparison and not one she prided herself on. But it did the trick. The mere thought had sickened Lelouch. But it was more skin deep annoyance than the bone deep one he felt just minutes ago.

"Grr why do people like to say I resemble my father?" grumbled Lelouch though he didn't seem to expect an answer. His posture had relaxed though and his features had softened. He didn't look nearly as intimidating as when he walked through the door. Now it was more like a petulant child, quite adorable really.

"Hey Lelouch, shouldn't you go console a pilot before she crumbles into despair and commits suicide." she reminded him off handedly. It really was a time sensitive issue.

Lelouch checked his synthetic mask in the mirror as he grumbled some more about lazy arrogant witches under his breath. He probably knew C.C. has distracted him on purpose with the weird comparison but he wasn't going to be thankful for it. Insulted yes, but he'd never encourage anyone comparing him to his old man.

"And don't forget to bring another pizza back when you're done!" C.C. called after him as he shut the door with more force than necessary.

She'd better make a trip to the kitchen herself. Or better yet call her gopher to do it for her. She picked up the phone and called Tamaki.

He didn't pick up, the lazy bastard. A smile crept onto her face as she imagined ways to get back at him for his dereliction of duty.

* * *

**Tokyo, Blood of the samurai warehouse.**

**Suzaku **

Suzaku kururugi was sitting in his seiza position as an officer of the Blood of the samurai spouted their beliefs to the new recruits. He had to focus on the mission with everything he had, to prevent himself from standing up and arguing with the ignorant fool.

His orders were clear, join with the Blood of the samurai and find out where their base was and if possible who their leaders were. Though the second part was optional because they didn't really care.

Apparently the leadership of the Blood of the samurai was so average that they believed anyone could step into the vacuum. They didn't mind if he was alive and disgraced as a permanent reminder to why no one should rebel against Britannia.

He would have thought it had been a gift of mercy if his squad mates hadn't grumbled about it within his hearing range. He sometimes wished he had Lelouch's brain to see all these angles but it probably wouldn't do him any good anyway.

Lelouch was paranoid beyond belief, so even with a normal brain he would probably come up with all the possible conspiracy theories.

He sometimes wondered if Lelouch posted conspiracy theories online for amusement. It would certainly be right up his alley.

"Is something funny to you recruit?" asked the officer looming over him.

Suzaku gulped as he was about to fail his mission, if he answered wrong "No sir I just remembered how some knightmare police got thrashed last night when you talked about how the Japanese will overcome the britannians." Suzaku fibbed with as much skill as possible.

He had overheard plenty of other recruits talking about it thanks to the Black Knights posting the events online. The exact details were being kept secret but the public was told that the police only reacted so quickly because they were on the take.

They actually showed the average response time and the response time of last night. It was less than half the average response time giving credence to the argument that they either lagged behind on purpose to avoid fights or were close by because they were dirty.

Either way the police department was disgraced among the elevens and britannians.

"Ah yes a good example of one of our fellow resistance fighters proving these brits can be beaten with willpower and perseverance." admitted the recruitment officer grudgingly.

He glanced at the other recruits before tacking on. "But the Black Knights are a secretive lot, that don't accept new members easily. At least not to their military arm and you guys don't want to be pencil pushers now do you!" He yelled and got an enthusiastic response of 'No!' that only sounded mildly artificial.

"Now I know some of you only joined us as an alternative." the officer suppressed a grimace at admitting that "After being invigorated by our recent successes but we are no less capable. We have existed for eight years and endured prince Clovis's tyranny and grew to be one of the biggest groups in central Japan."

Suzaku nodded along with his fellow recruits. He had heard how many of his fellow intelligence officers got turned down by the Black Knights despite having very good resumes. Some commanding officers even wondered if Zero had some insiders among the honorary britannians.

As a result his comrades got harassed for no good reason to flush out the spy but so far there hadn't been any signs of who it was. But if he could unmask the leaders of the Blood of the samurai. He may just earn the respect of his superiors by proving honorary britannians could be loyal.

Once the loyalty issue was solved he could be promoted up the ranks based on his merit and then he was sure he could obtain a high-ranking position from which he could help Japan.

"So what is your dream Kururugi?" asked the recruiter after a motivational speech about what his dream for Japan was like

Suzaku answered without hesitation "I want to help the people of Japan. To let them live a peaceful life free from the whims of tyrannical rulers."

"Good answer Kururugi!" applauded the recruiter along with his fellow recruits

Suzaku hadn't lied, he just hadn't mentioned that the tyrannical rulers he was talking about was the former Japanese government who wanted to throw away the lives of the people. And that he wanted to give the Japanese a better live through the system rather than from outside of it.

* * *

**Black Knights headquarters. **

**Kallen **

Kallen sullenly stared at the grey walls of her cell. Well, it was really a storage room. But it didn't change the fact that the door was locked and she should be imprisoned.

She idly wondered if she would die if she drank that bleach on the shelves. It would allow her to see Naoto and her mother again, even if it meant abandoning her remaining friends. Well, if they were still her friends.

She silently started cataloguing every item in the room to pass the time. But just as she was about to tally how many paper towels there were, the door slammed open.

Zero walked in and he looked pissed, her heart jumped into her chest at the prospect of finally hearing her just deserts.

Zero stood over her and glared down at her, well, as much as he was able to with the synthetic mask on. She had no trouble imagining the micro facial gestures though.

"You've sorely disappointed me today Kallen." Zero began "I entrusted you with the most crucial task to prevent a massacre by the knightmare police. I trusted you to protect your friends but instead you kill him, why?"

Zero wasn't pulling any punches, and to have the truth laid out in front of her like that; was oddly liberating.

"I'm sorry, I froze up." Kallen feebly explained. She honestly didn't have a better answer. Her mother shouldn't have distracted her so much. If it hadn't, than she might still be alive.

"You did more than just that, but we'll get to that." mumbled Zero

Zero then switched to a more gentle tone and lightly lifter her chin up to look him in the eye "Can you tell me what made you stop?"

Zero was still wearing that synthetic mask but she could pretend it was real. She gazed into his dark brown eyes and felt safe enough to bare her soul.

" I saw my mother…" Kallen hesitantly admitted "…Among the junkies."

Zero gasped slightly and she could see the care in his eyes as he processed the news. She absently thought, his expression was cute while he struggled with what to say to cheer her up.

His mouth opened and closed twice before he seemed to find the resolve to say "I've read every study there is on refrain addiction before I began my crusade against it, and I can tell you there is no cure. It slowly sucks the person you knew out of them and leaves behind an empty shell. Your mother died long ago, killed by the britannians before you were even strong enough to help her, Kallen."

Kallen saw the way out, but couldn't take it. It hadn't been the britannians, it had been her. She had killed her mother by ignoring her and pushing her away. She forced her own mother to take drugs to feel a semblance of the family life she wanted.

"She wasn't always like this, I made her like this" She admitted to Zero while averting her eyes.

Zero guided her chin back towards him drawing her gaze back to his earnest eyes. "No you didn't Kallen, no mother would blame their own daughter for being dealt a lousy hand in life. She persevered to stay with you, because she loved you and desperately wanted to be with you."

That just hit a sore nerve with Kallen and she lashed out at Zero by punching him. Hard. "And I repaid her by treating her like dirt. I acted like the mere sight of her repulsed me!" she railed as Zero struggled through the pain. She expected him to yell back, or even throw a punch. She would have welcomed it. At least she would know what to do then.

But instead Zero grabbed her arms and pulled her close and embraced her. He whispered into her ear. "Every teenager goes through a rebellious stage and you're no different. Your mother knew that and was only waiting for you to grow out of it. You would have been best friends again by the time you were twenty-six I promise."

Kallen calmed down somewhat when Zero started rubbing circles on her lower back, it soothed her. "But I still let her die." her remembrance of her mother's final moment also brought back Tamaki's spine chilling scream. He hadn't deserved that.

Zero squeezed her arm and drew her back from her memory though "Kallen you didn't let her die because she was in that warehouse for a reason. Didn't you think it strange, that so many junkies were gathered in one spot?"

Kallen nodded reluctantly at that logic and wondered where Zero was taking it.

"She couldn't pay her debts Kallen and those drug dealers were merciless. They were planning on selling her to human traffickers who were going to harvest their organs and sell them to britannians." he snarled in disgust.

"What?" Kallen said eloquently

Zero released the embrace and held her at arm's distance so he could look her in the eyes. "Britannian medicine is impressive but it can't repair organ failures. So rich and sick britannians pay a lot of money for numbers with compatible organs. Refrain targets the brain and leaves the organs mostly undamaged making them perfect organ farms."

Kallen's grief turned into bottomless rage as she realized Britannia was going to kill her mother tonight regardless, after torturing her for years. She screamed how she would have her bloody revenge as Zero hugged her tight.

It wasn't long before she broke out into sobs again as she clutched him as her only support she had left.

A small part of her knew that he could be lying about those human traffickers. But she didn't want to shatter the last illusion that was holding together her sanity. It Didn't really matter anymore. Her mother was gone, her father was better of dead, her brother was dead and her friends all hated her.

But Zero still cared. He was still here.

Even if he was lying she was fine with it, so long as he kept on saying what she wanted to hear. She didn't know if she could face up to what'd she'd done without those lies to shield her. Deep down she knew it was pathetic. But she was weak.

She lost track of how long she just laid there, in his thin arms. Her mascara had no doubt run, and his arms must be getting tired but still, he held her tightly.

It was weird but those scrawny little arms of his, were strong where it really mattered. She took solace in his embrace and slowly re-gathered herself.

"Do you think you can step outside now?" asked Zero tentatively when she hadn't sobbed or sniffled in a while.

Kallen nodded weakly despite knowing that she would have to face everyone's accusing stares. "Zero do you hate me for killing one of your men?" asked Kallen

She phrased it specifically like that because she knew he didn't care about Tamaki personally. But she wanted to know If he cared if he died. Though she didn't know if she wanted him to answer yes or no.

"I could never hate you Kallen." He immediately reassured "As for Tamaki I only let him stay after seeing how incompetent he was, because he was so important to Ohgi and the others. I expected to see his name on a casualties' list sooner or later. You killing him may cause some internal problems, but nothing I can't handle. And never forget, you are infinitely worth more than any of the other Black Knights. If you can't stand being around them, then just tell me and I'll rebuilt this organization from scratch."

Kallen knew it was probably an empty promise but she took comfort in knowing she meant that much to Zero anyways. Everyone else may hate her, but she still had Zero's trust and her position of Q1.

Tamaki's face flashed in front of her but she suppressed it for now. Instead she focused on Zero who was tentatively proposing his punishments. It was odd to see him gauge her reaction to it before adding more of them. It was silly, but it just showed how much he cared.

She didn't want preferential treatment though. She eagerly accepted indefinite lavatory duty.

* * *

**Author rant**

**This is long but pretty damn important so read it. **

Holy fuck!

In 1961 an American B52 bomber jet broke in half during flight and lost its load, **TWO FUCKING NUCLEAR BOMBS! **While it was flying over Goldsboro, North Carolina.

Quote from CNN, Newsroom.

"Both bombs plummeted to the ground. One was nearly armed, set to explode. But miraculously neither did…"

Yeah that's right, America nearly bombed itself.

And once was bad enough. But that wasn't the only time there was nearly a nuclear catastrophe.

Arkansas was also nearly wiped off the map.

Eric Schlosser author of Command and control

Quote "Someone dropped a socket in the silo. The socket fell about seventy feet, pierced the missile, caused a fuel leak and then there was a huge explosion."

And in 2007 six nuclear tipped cruise missiles were loaded on a B52 by MISTAKE! Flown across the country and left **unguarded **on the tarmac. **No one noticed for 36 hours**!

And that's without mentioning that guards sleep on the job and doors are left open. They have been woken up by both maintenance crew and a fast food delivery guy. And they barely pass their proficiency exams. Their computers are so ancient their floppy disks are the size of LP albums.

After learning this I just gotta take a good look at Al Qaeda, Isis and apparently the Khorasan group. How the fuck have you not managed to kill every American?

They have 4,804 warheads which barely seem guarded. How have you not stolen them yet? You don't need to smuggle them in. Just send a suicide bomber onto the base dressed as a delivery guy. It works!

This isn't just criminally negligent but **genocidal negligence**!

When president Obama said he felt much more threatened with a nuclear bomb going off in Manhattan than with Russia taking over the Crimea. The man wasn't kidding.

And it gets worse. Maybe only marginally compared to, you know, counting four less senators in the senate because their states no longer exist but still.

Okay that's an over exaggeration. Politicians are like cockroaches they will survive no matter what.

Speaking off. Did you know an amendment was passed that keeps these silos open no matter what the pentagon wants. Yep originally there was a bill to keep them open until 2021 but the republicans wanted to keep them open **FOREVER!** It passed with 218 republicans in favor and 189 democrats against. Passing with 222 in favor and 196 against. It's called the Daines amendment

Now you must be thinking if we are going to pay for this eternally then it's probably pretty cheap or really important. Well…

Colin Powell the former chairman of the joint chiefs of staff called them **useless.**

And let's be honest it's kinda obvious. You couldn't use them in Vietnam because you didn't want an escalation with China. And later the same thing with the USSR when it invaded Afghanistan. Conventional arms were still your go to strategy. And now it's laser guided bombs and drones.

You couldn't get the political capital to use it even if you wanted to. A country would have to declare war on America and be winning it, for it to get a nuke planted in its backyard. And frankly that's impossible. America's army dwarves those of a dozen other countries below them in the 'who has a bigger dic- army' contest COMBINED. You'd have to be the most incompetent general ever to exist to lose with those kinds of odds in your favor.

You'd literally have to drop a nuke on your own forces to possibly lose. Oh wait, never mind.

In a side bar I would like to point out that failing to occupy a country and defending your own country aren't the same thing. And the area in the middle east America tried to occupy has a long history of being hard to occupy. I think it goes back to Alexander the great. I'd have to look it up. America won in three weeks against Iraq. It's occupying that they really suck at. Not war.

Anyways…

The projected costs of U.S. nuclear forces between 2014 and 2023 will total 355 billion dollars.

To put that in perspective, at the end of his presidency, Bush was ready to go along with a 150 billion dollar stimulus package to reverse the economic slide. Something which was at the time, historically, a fairly large number

And Obama passed an 787 billion stimulus package when he first came into office. Later followed by another 410 billion and TARP. But I digress. Americans spend twice as much as Bush was willing to spend to save the economy and half of what Obama thought he could get through with bipartisan support on nukes!

Useless nukes I might add.

And yes, he watered down the stimulus package to fulfill his campaign promise of bipartisanship. One of his trusted economic advisors had a nagging feeling it was going to be north of a trillion and probably around 1.6 trillion. But republicans wouldn't accept that. Even if they were a minority and the bill passed anyway with all of them voting against despite Obama kissing their ass for bipartisanship.

On a side note I can't understand why Obama just doesn't say 'go fuck yourself' to the republicans. Even if they could prevent a bill from passing in the senate through filibustering. Oh never mind…

Second side note why do certified insane people not use their second amendment right to purchase a gun to kill a republican politician. I thought the whole point was to protect yourself from tyrannical governments?

Take a hint. How much do they need to screw you over before you get up and vote for the other guy?

They have literally made it impossible to cut 355 billion dollars of unnecessary expenses forever. And they present it to you as a good thing. You're safer and you don't need to pay for rebuilding the launch sites. Never mind the third of a TRILLION dollars in the mean time.

I won't even mention the pretext for war against Iraq.

At this point I have to ask my American readers to ask their congressman what the fuck is going on! Because with the level of carelessness with these WMDs and the recent statement that Isis hates Europeans and particularly the French. It's quite possible that they'll steal your nukes and try to bomb France and bomb my country by mistake.

If my country gets blown of the map, I want it to be on purpose.

Ps Most of this info was taken from Last week tonight with John Oliver. No further fact checking was done. Americans don't seem to listen to facts, so it was a waste of time. These are my beliefs and should therefore be respected.

I do waive the right to sound utterly retarded and making no sense whatsoever. So please feel free to criticize me with facts and I'll look up more information to defend myself with. You know, a good old-fashioned debate.

If I seem overly patronizing then tough luck. It's frankly embarrassing.

If you want the big shiny toys that make you the strongest then you gotta take care of them. I've seen kids treat dogs with more responsibility than you. And by that I mean ask me to take care of them because they don't want to.

The good news is that I have wonderful inspiration for when I get to the FLEIJA bomb plotlines. Well, no not really. I just spoiled the plot. Oh well the sacrifices we make, like standing in line to vote.

Disclaimer: the assumption that America will never be able to nuke another country is based on the hope that the republicans will never have an overwhelming majority. Since I think I remember senator Cruz saying America had to bomb them back to the stone age. Them off course being a Muslim country suffering from what America called the KKK.

If you don't know what that means, ask the first black person you see. I know it may take some time but just be patient.

Disclaimer two: I did do some fact checking. I just didn't hold myself to the high standard of the daily show and other comedy programs. Though I might have topped Fox news. I checked three sources. Albeit for three different facts. A book about Obama by a respected political journalist. Daines's own website and a more independent one since his was shit. And Bill Maher's show because I just wanted to be sure I was right about the dozen countries America outspends combined bit. Naturally all three could be lying or liberal media brainwashing.

I know it's trivial information but still. Maybe my priorities are just backwards.


	25. Britannia, V Approximately 64,695 Pound

**Chapter Twenty Five Britannia, V. Approximately 64,695 Pounds of Shark Fins.**

Suzaku stumbled a bit and had to grab on to something to keep from falling over. That something turned out to be Mizuka, his new drinking buddy.

"You know Suzaku, people might get the wrong idea if you keep groping me in public."

Suzaku glanced at his two right hands and saw they were just grabbing his shoulder. He found that perfectly acceptable. His friend was just messing with him again. Though to be fair he did grab him repeatedly tonight. His alcohol tolerance was a lot lower than he had expected.

He defended himself eloquently "Fuck off!"

"I'd be happy to, but who else but me, would drag your sorry ass back. You're gonna wish you were dead before training even starts, and then you'll be begging me to do the honors. Since you're such a chicken shit." replied his new friend with a grin.

Suzaku just nodded. Too drunk to form a coherent response and not even sure if he could talk his way out of it if he was sober.

His friend dragged him over to a nearby bench and plopped down on it. Suzaku winced in pain at the none too gentle landing. "This how you treat all your…" He trailed off not knowing how to finish.

Mizuka just smirked at him. "I think the word you're looking for is dates. It implies I'm gay or just a jerk in general. But if I'm that, what does it make you, a gay masochist?"

Suzuki just groaned in response. He had a lot of patience and it took a lot for him to really get angry. But Mizuka was getting close with his constant insults. He'd dealt with worse. But he was so drunk that he'd actually flirted with someone. Granted he'd ended up insulting the girl and driving her off. But it was so far out of his comfort zone that who knows what else he'd do. One thing was stopping him though besides his ironclad morals, since his discipline was soaked in alcohol, Mizuka's sob story.

He didn't know if Mizuka had told him on purpose or if he was so drunk it just tumbled out of his mouth before he realized what happened. But one thing led to another. Suzaku had been reciting his scripted reason for joining the Blood of the samurai and Mizuka responded with his own. Only his was real and a lot more raw, legal rape.

Mizuka's story could be summed up into those two words. His sister's suicide explained the rest and revenge went unsaid. There was even a list. The lawyer who got the bastard off, the jury that didn't even want bribes, the judge that called it a waste of his time, and of course the rapist himself.

If it was just that, then he could call it an unfortunate travesty of justice but console himself with the knowledge that it was the exception. But it wasn't.

He hadn't immersed himself in Britannian laws. He'd just assumed they covered elevens as well as honorary britannians. He had become honorary as soon as possible and as a result completely missed how elevens were treated beyond statistics.

His new friends had cleared that up for him but none drove the point home more than Mizuka's older sister. The girl had been the exception. But not how he had hoped. She had actually gotten a court case whereas most didn't even get that.

Mizuka had bribed the police officer into making the charges stick and then the court clerks. But his pockets were empty by the time it reached court. Mizuka had tried to get news coverage in a last attempt to shame the court into acting justly.

But no reporter showed and it got dismissed. In the end Mizuka was embittered, and he regretted ever trying to use the system. He'd only made the corrupt richer and more powerful, while the shock of the injustice drove his sister to commit suicide.

Mizuka would have been first in line to join the resistance right after that, if it wasn't for his little sister who had no one else. His mother had died in the invasion and his father wasn't around to begin with. But his sister was old enough to take care of herself now and Mizuka's regret was still there.

He'd completely broken down when he confessed that he just couldn't bring himself to kill back then, even when he knew it was the only way. He blamed himself for being a 'cowardly little shit' as he called it.

Suzaku argued against him off course but there was only so much he could say. He couldn't say there was always a better way when clearly everything had been tried and it failed. He still remembered how it felt whenever he failed and Tohdoh just told him to try harder. It was incredibly infuriating especially when it seemed impossible.

He still felt there had to be one, but he couldn't piss off his new friends. As a spy he knew he could be ratting out any one of his new friends any day now. But if he could convince them to quit before that, then they could be saved. If only he could figure out how to do that without blowing his cover.

"Hey Suzaku, you'd better not have dozed off on me. I'm not carrying you back like a little princess." When Suzaku didn't respond Mizuka grumbled to himself, "Why'd they stick me with the lightweight."

He took another sip of his beer. "Well at least ya got a head on your shoulders. You're not nearly as blind as most, though twice as rash. We'll make a good team. I'll be the brains and you'll be the brawn." He chuckled "Too bad we can't go celebrating like this more often. It was fun but I doubt you'll want to come again." He shrugged "I guess we'll go bug my little sister instead. She's quite the cook."

Suzaku kept listening silently. Not daring to reveal he was actually awake now that Mizuka seemed to be talking to himself. He resolved himself to get his little sister to talk Mizuka out of joining the Blood of the Samurai. He couldn't do it, but his little sister could. He doubted he could take knowing Mizuka died in prison because of him.

It was selfish of him. But he could be selfish just this once right?

* * *

**Six weeks later.**

Hazing was over. Bonds were formed. Now they were true resistance fighters. At least so Suzaku had thought.

He was wrong, they were still rookies. He was fine with it, if it was just that, but it wasn't. They were un-blooded as well. So to remedy this, the Blood of the samurai had ordered them to do a sabotage mission.

Again he'd be fine with some destruction of property. But the Blood of the samurai wanted to weed out the faint of heart. So instead they wanted to pour concrete into the rail tracks.

They'd gotten the idea from the Black Knights when they trapped Princess Cornelia's men. But they weren't targeting Sutherlands. They were going to derail a supply train carrying who knows what.

His superiors hadn't been clear on that. They just said not to worry. It was better than a passenger train he'd thought at first but Mizuka had rid him of such happy delusions.

"The train could be carrying another batch of Sutherlands like in Shinjuku or even high grade chemicals. If the train crashes with those then it'll be a pain to put out." He'd commented off handedly. As if an unquenchable inferno that needed special measures to extinguish wasn't a big deal.

He didn't even know where they were going to hit the train. It would be a disaster if it went off the tracks in the middle of the city. Leaving the chances of the fire spreading aside, the toxic fumes alone could be deadly.

Regardless of what it carried though, it all came down to one thing. He had to tell his supervisor in the intelligence division. But if he did that, then everyone would be rounded up, including Mizuka.

* * *

**Seven PM, rail tracks.**

Suzaku watched anxiously as Mizuka slowly maneuvered the cement truck into position. He had tried to talk him out of it. But Mizuka wouldn't listen and now he was directly responsible. He couldn't put in a good word for him anymore and hope for a reduced sentence.

If he got caught that is. Suzaku knew the britannians were going to catch them in the act but do it sloppily.

The general mess and panic would convince the Blood of the Samurai that they were just unlucky rather than betrayed. It would allow him to evade capture and keep his cover. He just didn't have permission to lead others out and come home a hero.

He gripped his assault rifle so hard his knuckles turned white. Was this the right thing to do?

Mizuka started pouring the thin quick drying cement into the rail tracks. It was done. They were now all complicit in an act of sabotage against Britannia.

Worse, they'd done it on tape.

He had thought nothing of the overwhelming need of evidence at first. Until his supervisor mumbled something about returning the favor to the Black Knights.

From there he'd pieced it together. They were going to air this to rile up the people against the terrorists. Cripple the support that Zero had managed to gather.

The thought that politics was giving his friends a show trial was bad enough. The new knowledge that politics dictated that it was the best they could hope for was worse.

But that could still change if he just managed to climb up in rank, and for that he needed to show his loyalty and ability. Even if he had to betray his friends.

He started glancing around for the cops to show up.

"Stop worrying so much Suzaku." Mizuka called out to him. "We're doing nothing flashy. The britannians won't know what happened until that train does a cartwheel of the tracks."

Suzaku tried to stop fidgeting and give his friend a reassuring smile but he knew something was wrong. They should have been here by now. A search light from a helicopter should be glaring down on them and cops yelling at them to freeze should be coming from all directions.

Instead he heard his friends ask each other if they wanted to go out and grab a beer after this was over. Trying desperately to act calmer than they really felt.

"Sorry but this isn't how I pictured it." he replied

"Yeah I know. I thought we'd be storming the barricades and taking over the viceroy's palace or something. Not stealing medical supplies for the needy." Mizuka immediately backtracked. "Not that there's anything wrong with that off course."

Suzaku just nodded. He hadn't expected it either nor did he know that elevens were barred from hospitals. The end of prince Clovis' executive order came as a shock since he didn't know it was an emergency measure to begin with.

Still, stealing medicine from a hospital didn't seem like the right thing to do. Yes the Japanese needed it, but so did the britannians. Couldn't they just talk things out and come to an agreement? Besides without any doctors to prescribe them, the medicine was going to do more harm than good.

No telling how many could overdose or get addicted. But he couldn't rain on their parade. He had to keep his mouth shut and smile at their half assed ideas.

"Any idea what they are going to do with it?" He asked anyway but carefully kept his tone neutral, like he was just passing the time while the rail tracks filled up with concrete.

"Nah not really, I heard some of the higher ups talking about selling it on the Black market. Apparently the Black knights got the manpower to handle distribution better but some want to keep it in house."

Suzaku looked at him in confusion "Why would they keep it if they can't use it?" He couldn't understand what could stop them from helping the people like they promised.

Mizuka shrugged "Politics, the Blood want the credit for helping people, but if they give it to the Black Knights then the people will thank them first and foremost. If you're sick or starving than you don't care where it came from, just who gave it to you"

"But that's wrong!" He yelled back

Mizuka shushed him with a careless wave "I know but the Blood is losing face and recruits. If they're not careful they'll be taking orders from both the JLF and the Black Knights. Former professional soldiers they can accept but not some rookies."

Fucking pride, it's what it all came down to.

Suzaku glared impotently at nothing and everything for a while. He wanted to change it all. But he was just a faceless cog in the machine. He had no power to change anything. The best he could do was save the people right in front of him. But even that could cost him the opportunity to help more.

Things were so much simpler when he had been a kid. He had a goal and a plan. He just didn't know how to get from A to B. Kaguya had suggested his current road but he was having doubts sometimes whether it was the right one.

He knew she wasn't wrong when she said the military ran the country. Every influential figure had ties to it. But how could he ever become one if he had no chance to prove his worth.

Yes he had one right now. But it wasn't one he wanted to succeed in. He desperately wanted to fail. His conviction and morals were pulling him in separate directions.

"Huh? The train is early." commented Mizuka.

Suzaku looked to the right and sure enough he could see the train approaching in the distance. Everyone soon dropped what they were doing and hastily moved the cement truck back.

But it was too late the train was already slowing down. They'd been spotted. But it didn't matter. The train had too much momentum to come to a stop before it hit the concrete. The wheels would leave the track and the train would tip over and crash into the countryside.

It was like watching the future two minutes in advance. The screeching of the wheels grated on his ears as he ran away.

He momentarily stumbled when the ground shook underneath him. He felt more than heard the train crash behind him. He slowly turned around and gazed at the destruction he had wrecked, and the britannians had allowed to be wrecked.

He had been so sure they'd hold the train back. He couldn't fathom a reason for them not to. Mizuka slapped him on the back to get him moving.

And soon he too was assaulting the train with pneumatic power tools to pry it open. He was like an ant devouring a moth. He forced the doors of a container car open with a tool normally used by firemen to pry open crashed cars.

He felt like he was tainting the lifesaving tool with what he was doing. But he couldn't falter now. The plan may be ruined but he still needed to follow the other one, the terrorists' one.

Trucks pulled up and soon dozens of crates were being lifted into them. What was light enough was carried by hand but most was easier with a machine.

It took a long time to load everything up and he was sure that the train driver had called the police, if not the military itself. So where were they?

He kept searching for them in the sky and in the distance. But no VTOL or Knightmares were in sight.

Eventually he boarded a truck as well and left the scene of the crime. The rest of his friends were elated and already celebrating. But his mind kept asking himself why.

Why didn't the britannians intervene?

* * *

Suzaku closed his eyes in delight. He hadn't eaten a traditional Japanese meal in so long. The taste was both nostalgic and exquisite.

"Hey Suzaku! Check this" called Mizuka who had already finished his dinner. Apparently the Amigetsu family didn't stand on formality.

His eyes wandered over to whatever caught Mizuka's attention. His eyes suddenly widened when he spotted himself on national television. He wasn't the focus though. Instead it was about a terrorist plot to harm good upstanding britannians.

It focused on the inconveniences the nearby hospital had experienced and the few casualties they'd suffered. Apparently they had run out of a blood type and patients had bled out on the table.

The Blood of the samurai was being blamed directly for this.

"Wow those buggers are going all out on the charms offensive." commented Mizuka from the couch.

"What'd ya mean?" asked Suzaku though he realized the answer as soon as the question left his mouth. His sneaking suspicion had become a reality. It was depressing that he'd been right. Even worse was that it had slipped his mind.

Mizuka gave him a 'are you stupid look' "The Black Knights made a speech about justice and now they're painting us as the bad guys again. You can't get much lower than attacking hospitals and even if we didn't. They sure are making it sound like it." He gestured at the TV.

"People were second guessing their opinions a bit. But with this their preconceptions will get only more entrenched. They were willing to give us the benefit of the doubt and we spat in their faces." Mizuka rolled his eyes to show what he really thought about that.

Suzaku felt cold dread settle in to his stomach though. The realization that the britannians had done this on purpose was uncomfortably weighing on his conscience. Didn't they know that people had died from this?

He needed to get in contact with his handler. But he was on strict radio silence. Emergency calls only and that translated to 'if it ain't lethal to somebody than you're wasting my time'.

That somebody was also hinted to be Britannian only.

With a sigh of resignation he took another bite.

* * *

Suzaku felt vindicated as he walked to Mizuka's house. The train derailment incident barely lasted one news cycle. Zero had denounced it as the death rattle of by gone relics of a forgotten age. The statement had appeased the britannians by publicly distancing the resistance from the Blood of the samurai, lessening the outrage against elevens in general.

It had angered the Blood of the samurai to be shamed by rookie upstarts but Suzaku didn't care. They deserved it. But a dressing down wasn't what had him in a good mood.

Replacement medical supplies had appeared on the hospital's doorstep overnight, with the Black Knights symbol on every box forcing the britannians to eat their words.

And his supervisor's boss had suffered Princess Cornelia's wrath through general Darlton. Suzaku hadn't been able to resist smirking at his walk of shame as he cleared out his desk. Apparently the viceroy didn't agree with the plan and had no problem letting everyone know it.

Well, except for the media. But she cleaned house even if it was only internally. They were going to nip things in the bud next time and not let it play out on purpose to win media wars. Or to get a better idea of who was involved in terrorism.

His faith in the higher ups was restored. He now realized he had to clear out the corrupt middlemen in between who had to execute their will.

He knocked on the door and waited to see Mayuki's radiant smile. The door opened and mouthwatering food smells wafted out like always. But instead of a smile he saw red puffy eyes staring at him in disbelief.

"Thank god!" She cried before she hugged him.

Suzaku was flabbergasted. What the hell happened and why was Mayuki glad to see him when she was crying not five minutes ago.

He decided that it would be easier if he had her brother with him. "Uhm where's Mizuka?" He asked but only got a round of sobs in return. He uncomfortably felt his shirt get noticeably wetter.

He awkwardly padded her on her back. He really wished someone wrote a book on consoling people. He was always at a loss when it happened. He'd even gone so far as to temporarily ignore it when Lelouch had told him about his sister.

He had preferred a furious Lelouch to a hysterically crying one. He somewhat doubted the latter would happen but unconsciously he had chickened out.

"Why uhm are you… uhm?" His own eloquence reminded him why he did it.

Mayuki snorted a blob of snot back up her nose and swallowed to clear her throat. It wasn't endearing. But he was happy she seemed to be getting a hold of herself.

"Soldiers came and took him away." She sniffled "Don't know how. Only trusted friends knew." Her eyes were wide and bloodshot looking at him for an answer, and he had one. He had been the one to tell the Britannians. The girl he was comforting in his arms had lost her brother because of him. And he was too much of a coward to admit it. He reminded himself of protocols and the good the operation was doing but his mind called it bullshit.

He knew it was wrong but he was doing it anyway. This girl didn't deserve this, but neither did those people who died from blood loss in the hospital, nor the Japanese who the Blood of the samurai stole the medicine for. It was all wrong, but he couldn't change anything yet. He felt so powerless.

"Thought…the..ey too…uk you too." Mayuki stuttered out.

Crap he needed a reason for why he wasn't arrested. Why couldn't his handler give him a heads up? A small part of his brain immediately supplied the answer; they don't trust you not to tell your new friends. They probably only told him last time to test his loyalty. A spy was no good if it turned out to be a double agent after all.

"I, ah must have missed them by chance. I went jogging this morning."

Mayuki frowned at him "You don't smell, nor are you dressed for jogging."

Suzaku tried to smile reassuringly. "I got cleaned up at the gym. I like to run till I'm exhausted and not worry whether I can make it home before I collapse, and riding a bus while you reek is embarrassing."

Mayuki nodded and hugged him again. "Sorry, everything's just been so hectic. I can't even get in touch with the Blood. They told me they're going underground for a while. Too many got pinched though. Even if they resurface they'll be a skeleton crew. They won't have the manpower to rescue my brother."

That he was going to die in prison went unsaid. That he would have regardless of the Blood of the samurai's strength was an easy assumption. But Suzaku wasn't going to burst her happy delusion.

Busting Mizuka out was a day dream. Only someone like Zero would merit getting a rescue from his organization. Terrorists sucked everything they could out of decent hard working people. But when they dried up or got captured they just discarded the husk. And had the gall to call it a travesty of Britannian justice to attract more victims.

Suzaku guided her to the couch and sat down with her. He quietly stroked her arm in a attempt to help her. He had no clue how long he just stayed there in companionable silence.

Knock, knock. Suzaku's eyes were instantly drawn to the door.

"Open up this is the police." came through the door.

Suzaku glanced at Mayuki who flinched back into the couch. She was clearly still afraid and in no state to deal with them. He smiled reassuringly at her and let her go gently. She wordlessly understood his meaning and gave a nod.

He walked up to the door and opened it.

He saw two Britannia police officers who seemed bored.

"How can I help you officers?" Suzaku politely asked. No need to get things off on a bad foot.

"Step aside." one of them ordered and without waiting for an answer barged in. His partner followed suit. Suzaku was pushed against the wall and his eyes widened in surprise. He could have easily resisted but there was no point.

Violence solved nothing. But before he could ask what they were doing they spoke up again after finding Mayuki on the couch.

"A resident of this apartment has been accused of terrorism. We have reason to believe this residence was used to plot acts of terrorism. Therefore this house is now being seized." He waved around a stack of papers. Suzaku recognized them as forms for a lawsuit. "You have thirty days to clear the premises."

Mayuki looked at them in disbelief but was too scared to say anything. Suzaku however wasn't. "You can't do this. She had nothing to do with her brother's crimes!"

The cops smirked at him. "Doesn't matter." They then turned to Mayuki "If you wish to get your house back, you will have to prove your house wasn't used in any acts of terrorism." Though it didn't sound like a helpful suggestion.

Guilty until proven innocent.

Suzaku couldn't believe it. This was robbery. It was impossible to prove no one planned an act of terrorism in her house. There had to have been cameras filming every second of every day since the day she moved in to beat that charge.

Mayuki numbly accepted a piece of paper with her court date and gave any relevant information the cops needed. Suzaku tried to protest but they both ignored him. It wasn't just that his pleas fell on deaf ears. They were treating him like a child throwing a tantrum that had to be ignored until he ran out of steam.

Eventually the cops left and Mayuki was left blankly staring out in front of her, the damning pieces of paper already forgotten on the coffee table. She had hardly glanced at them.

"Why?" He asked "How could you let them." Her easy if pained acceptance was baffling to him.

Mayuki finally looked at him. "You're really blind aren't you?" She accused softly, though it sounded more like a statement than a biting insult, she sighed "Civil forfeiture Suzaku." She said it as if it was supposed to mean something to him.

"…"

A wry grin marred her face at his silence. "You joined the Blood without even knowing what they fought for didn't you." again a statement not an accusation.

Suzaku didn't have a good answer for that, for truthfully he didn't. Their manifesto was thick; he didn't have the time to read it before he started his mission, and after he was too caught up in things to spare the time nor did it seem necessary. They were terrorists trying to change the world through violence. What more was there to know?

"The police can seize money, vehicles and even real estate from people without having to convict or even charge them for a crime. And you have to proof their innocence. "She snorted "You aren't on trial but your assets." She joked but her smile didn't reach her eyes. He wasn't supposed to laugh.

"The law was introduced years ago to cripple drug organizations." Suzaku's mind flashed with how effective that could be. Without drug money there would be less people willing to kill for it and officials couldn't get bribed with it. But Mayuki crushed his daydream. "But the cops can keep 90% or more of the forfeiture money, sometimes even a hundred percent. There are also no spending limitations. Some buy alcohol, or margarita machines and others buy a Zamboni." She sneered at the last part.

Suzaku wondered what a machine that smoothened out ice for ice skaters had to do with law enforcement.

But that wasn't the main issue "But we can fight it right. That guy said there'd be a court date!"

Mayuki nodded still looking lifeless, as if her drive had been sucked out of her. "But with what money Suzaku? I'd have to ask the Black Knights to represent me but even they don't work for free. I'll be bankrupt before it's over. Heck, only one in a hundred get their stuff back. And I'd have to deal directly with the prosecutor who…" she trailed off. "It's simply not worth it."

Suzaku felt her surrender was like a kick to the balls. Was this how other elevens felt?

Completely exposed to all kinds of legal attacks with no protection, Suzaku remembered with a wince that technically those cops could have raped Mayuki in front of him and there would have been nothing he could do. He couldn't have stopped them, even with force. He'd be the one at fault then.

But what if she wasn't an eleven?

"Can't you register as an Honorary Britannian? Then they'd drop your case right?"

Suzaku nodded to himself. The lack of legal cover was an incentive to get the Japanese to join the Britannian fold. If they joined the system then the system would protect them.

Mayuki looked at him in bewilderment before she laughed in his face. "God you're naïve. No wonder Mizuka liked you. He always had a thing for protecting the weak."

Suzaku gritted his teeth in annoyance. He'd been called every variation of stupid before most notably naïve. But none ever called him weak. Weak minded perhaps, that was a favorite of Lelouch. Hmm was that what she meant by weak?

"Suzaku how do you think I got this house?" she asked him as if it was obvious.

Suzaku frowned at her. He honestly didn't have a clue. He rented his apartment. How Mayuki who was a few years younger than him had it, was incomprehensible to him, but then it hit him.

A hard edge appeared on his face. "So you're a criminal as well." He added the last part as an afterthought. He was technically one right now and he didn't want to sound too hostile.

A snarl appeared on Mayuki's face "God you're stupid. I'm already an honorary citizen you idiot! You can't buy a house without a social security number and you don't get one until you register and secondly I'm not a criminal. I'm a secretary for the Black Knights. I got a loan from them to buy this house."

She worked for the Black knights. The Black knights were terrorists. Therefore she was a terrorist. Suzaku honestly couldn't make sense of what she was saying.

"But they are terro.." he stopped talking when he had to dodge a coffee mug thrown at him by Mayuki.

"You fool! The Black Knights are separated in two different organizations. Most of them are pencil pushers like me who just work for a living. They're a nonprofit organization that helps people. We have nothing to do with the military arm!"

Suzaku just frowned back at her. It still didn't make sense. "But you still work for and support the military arm. You still work for terrorists so you are a…." He snapped his mouth shut again when a plant came sailing his way.

"Get out!" she screamed at him "You know nothing and just preach your own beliefs. My brother may have been a terrorist and I loved him despite that. But I won't be called one in my own house. For as long as it is my fucking house!"

Suzaku's conscience was suddenly pained with the realization that he'd been the one to tell the britannians that Mizuka lived here. He knew they had seized her house because of what he had told them. He'd made her homeless. She now had a huge debt with the Black Knights, her brother was in jail, and was homeless.

He'd tried to comfort her but he was the source of all her problems. If he hadn't killed his father than she wouldn't even need to borrow money from criminals. Her brother would still be here and their older sister… Yeah indirectly he supposed he was responsible for her rape as well.

He'd completely destroyed this family.

"I'm sorry." He tried to… But Mayuki's eyes just flared up in anger more. "I said get out!"

He felt defeated. Mayuki pushed him out of her house without letting him get another word in, and a small part of him was thankful. Suzaku felt grateful that he didn't need to confess his sins, even if it was the right thing to do.

The door slammed shut behind him. He had no doubt he'd never be welcome here again. He remembered a drunken promise to Mizuka as he stood there. He'd slurred it and barely remembered it afterwards, but he had promised to take care of Mizuka's little sister if anything happened to him.

There was a near physical pain in his chest as he slowly walked away.

* * *

If Suzaku's nails had mud under them before, then he was about to take a mud bath now. Mizuka hadn't talked, nor had the other recruits who got arrested.

Even Suzaku could see that they didn't have a reason to. They were arrested yesterday but they were already beginning their jail sentences today. They'd been offered a deal off course. But apparently they didn't appreciate the difference in how many years they had to spend in prison.

It pissed him off that Mayuki was worried sick about her brother while he just grinned at spending the rest of his life behind bars.

Which was where he came in, Suzaku was Mizuka's friend. He was trusted. And therefore he had to abuse that trust to wring what they wanted to know out of him.

He wasn't sure whether he was up for this though. Just looking at Mizuka made him sick, but he wasn't disgusted at him though. He hated himself. Hated what he had done and was still doing to him. All while calling him friend.

It reminded him of his younger years. He'd called Lelouch out. The way he would smile while inwardly he was seething, annoyed him, but how he purposely tried to manipulate Kaguya into liking him really rubbed him the wrong way.

But Lelouch was just trying to make things easier for himself. He wasn't really harming anyone by faking being nice. He on the other hand was deliberately trying to ruin people's lives for his own gain. No his potential gain, there was no guarantee of a promotion.

He'd called Lelouch evil back then, and here he was now; a thousand times worse.

He was given a list with talking points to memorize, nothing out of the ordinary so they weren't interested in an upcoming operation. No immediate loss of life if he fucked this up. That was something at least.

He braced himself. The first punch caused him to lose his breath. He felt like he was drowning on land. The second snapped his head to the side. The third was a liver blow and caused him to keel over. They didn't bother giving him a moment to recover. Instead they just switched over to kicking. It was more believable.

He inwardly wondered if that was going to be written in the report. After he was bruised up and looked like he had gone through hell. He was dragged through the hallway and thrown into a cell.

"The fuck!" gasped out someone "Is that you Suzaku?"

Suzaku blearily opened an eye and recognized a worried looking Mizuka. The first part of the plan seemed a success, establishing his credibility.

His eye lids were too heavy to keep open though. He tried with all his might, to the point of his eye lid visibly shaking under the strain. But he had to admit. He was just too damn tired. He was hurt, both emotionally and physically. He just wanted to sleep it away. Mizuka fussing over him felt reassuring as he fell into slumber.

* * *

He cracked his eyes open when he could ignore it no longer. He had to fucking pee. Holding it up while asleep was easy. But the urge eventually woke him up by itself.

So there he was with his eyes still closed while resisting the urge to cross his legs and make weird movements with his hips. At some point pride and potential embarrassment trumped a peaceful slumber that was already ruined.

He looked around and found a toilet in the corner of the cell. What he didn't see was any kind of obstruction to prevent a peep show for his cell mate and any potential guards.

Mizuka saw the look while he snickered in amusement at his unconscious little dance with his hips. "If you're wondering if you are a stripper in a communist country then you are correct, all the joys of taking your clothes off without any of the bothersome money, or food for that matter."

That image did not make Suzaku more comfortable peeing in front of another man. Instead he imagined himself in a tube top, fishnet and with big hair. He was thankful he at least imagined himself as a prostitute, instead of a drag queen. Still an unfair association but better for his ego.

Mizuka rolled his eyes "You know little children ages five and up have invented this little thing called 'looking away' Suzaku" He turned away from the toilet and stared at the opposing wall.

Suzaku suddenly felt very silly. How many times had he used a urinal without being embarrassed? It was fine so long as you stared straight ahead and only shook your penis twice max after finishing. Otherwise it looked suspiciously like masturbating.

Simple rules that prevent awkward situations, the setting may be different but the principle still applied. He sat down though, instead of standing.

"So you said something about food." said Suzaku awkwardly to change the subject. The sound of rushing water was a little embarrassing still, though he oddly felt the urge to keep it up for as long as possible.

Mizuka snorted "More like the lack of it. The guards haven't brought me anything yet. So either its torture or they got a private company providing the food." He said contemplatively "I doubt the viceroy would put me in those private cesspools just yet though."

Suzaku's eyebrows scrunched up together and he felt a déjà vu coming on. The 'you're an idiot Suzaku and here's why' variety. "Huh?" He really needed to work on his eloquence to avoid them though.

Mizuka glanced back at him for a moment before remembering Bro code and swiftly turning back. "Hmm makes sense I suppose." He mumbled to himself sounding as if Suzaku not knowing was standard fare. "The prince's revenge reversed the first invasion of Japan, but it did so by royally screwing over Britannia. So naturally the unfeeling sadistic monsters that they are, decided to take it out on the most hated minority in Britannia." He paused for dramatic effect but then quickly added "The mainland that is, so numbers weren't included." which completely ruined his momentum. But he tried it anyway. "Prisoners."

Suzaku just stared at him "So?" it wasn't exactly rocket science to figure out people hated convicted criminals.

Mizuka shook his head. "I already mentioned private companies right. Well the brits decided to let companies run prisons if they could run them at least seven percent cheaper. Their bold cost saving business model" He said while making air quotes and rolling his eyes "Translated to food shortages for inmates and even reports of it being maggot infested. But I think this place is still government owned. We'd really be screwed if it was privately owned."

Suzaku raised his finger as if he wanted to call attention so he could ask something but then dropped it. Before regaining his courage and asking "You do know Princess Cornelia is going to torture us right?" It was stupid on so many levels to ask this if he wanted to get the ordered information, but he had to know.

Mizuka laughed mockingly "She'll just beat me up. But in private ones they'll rape and beat you to an inch of your life. I met rape victims Suzaku, a few extra bruises is nothing compared to that."

Suzaku felt kind of bad he hadn't remembered the name of Mizuka's older sister. Though in his defense, he was drunk.

But even if he did remember it, to say something along of the lines of 'your sister wouldn't blame you for…' Yeah he didn't know how to finish that either. Yeah [blank statement] wouldn't want you to feel bad because of [blank statement]. That felt really personal and uplifting.

He decided to go for uncomfortable silence, which seemed to stretch on forever; though it probably was only ten minutes or so.

"Any idea why they're keeping you here then instead of…"He trailed off from his lame ass and blatant attempt to…Interrogate? He wasn't even sure.

"The fuckers think I'm tight with the second in command of the Blood. If I was, then I wouldn't have fucking robbed that train to begin with. Sure medical supplies sound good but the Black knights already sell them." He sneered "Handing out cash would have been better."

Suzaku had to ask "What would you have done then?" he was genuinely curious.

Mizuka hesitated a bit before answering "Don't know. But they might as well have been handing out coupons to a strip club. They're still bribes." He suddenly snapped his fingers like he had a eureka moment. "They should've bribed the news anchors to spin this foreign rapist shit." He tried to build up steam but faltered "Nah they'd just get fired and replaced with other assholes shoveling bovine waste with sticks sticking out of them."

Suzaku tried to imagine butt cheeks clenching together to grip the stick better to peddle their bull shit more effectively. It was pretty funny but it distracted from the issue.

"So you can't think of anything?" He let an uncomfortable silence spread while Mizuka tried to break it. He eventually had to give in though. He slumped into himself and just stayed silent. "If you can't think of it then maybe it doesn't exist? I've never believed terrorism was the answer."

Mizuka stared at him and cocked his head slightly to the side. "Why'd you join the Blood then?"

Ahh good question, Suzaku kicked himself for breaking his assigned character. Think, Suzaku think. He was a dissatisfied insider of the Kururugi regime who was protected until now for his own good. But he'd become more independent and tried to realize his father's vision, a free Japan.

All a pile of bovine waste of course but the answer had to be in there somewhere. The silence stretched. Shit he was running out the clock. Fuck it. Here goes a hail Mary. "I guess the Black Knights inspired me."

Mizuka just snorted again. "Their recruitment office was practically down the block from the Blood's. Did you get lost?"

Suzaku honestly wanted to say yes. He didn't know where he was or where he was going anymore. He had a cardinal direction but that was basically it, but the roads were windy and he ended up walking in a different direction more than once.

And lately even his belief in his cardinal direction was shaken. Was Britannia still the answer? He was sure now more than never that it wasn't. Not in its current state. He was still lost on how to change it other than climbing in rank.

Mizuka was his next promotion and with it he could help the Mayuki's of the world. He could create order and peace through the system. Not violent interventions like the Black Knights. They should have joined the police if they really wanted to help.

"No, I didn't trust the blowhard. I've seen plenty of politicians make grand and bold claims only to back peddle to the middle the very next day. Zero is a populist that floats in the breeze. No underlying principles whatsoever." Suzaku defended, drawing upon old half-forgotten comments Lelouch made to him about his father's opponents.

Mizuka cracked a genuine smile, not a smirk or a snort. There wasn't a hint of derision. So understandably, it made him very uncomfortable. "What?"

His smile reverted back to a smirk "Nothing just thinking you're finally getting it. That Zero fucker may float his boat with justice, but who decides? Short answer Zero. Which translates to dictator, never trust someone who appeals to a great cause. Greed and practicality are much more honest."

"What about your sister then…" He immediately got a warning look. Apparently Mizuka feared bugs so he added "I hear she sympathizes with the Black knights?" it was bland enough that it wouldn't raise any flags. It was like saying you liked a soccer team. It wasn't until you entered hooligan territory that people got worried.

He dismissively waved it away "There's no accounting for taste. She likes their economic arm and cares less about Zero. Personally I think she's crushing on that red head that stood next to Zero."

"A cru-ush?" sputtered Suzaku. He hadn't expected that, but to each their own. He couldn't help but imagine the well-endowed red head together with sweet little Mayuki though.

Mizuka threw him a glare. Suzaku got the hint and dropped his little daydream.

"She idolizes women in power." emphasized Mizuka his good mood slightly diminished. "I think she'd have a princess Cornelia poster if she wasn't Britannian and would kill her for even asking her autograph."

Suzaku nodded though he was slightly disappointed for some reason. Mizuka meanwhile stared at the ceiling. He glanced back a few times at him but didn't say anything. Suzaku kept quiet, too puzzled with this indecisive behavior to make sense of it.

Finally he turned fully back to him "What do they have on you?"

Suzaku was tempted to say he was facing twenty years. He suspected Mizuka was about to talk about his escape plan. He was probably trying to get a sense of his motivation. No point in escaping if you got out in less than five years. But the glint in his eyes wasn't there. It was more desperate and defeated.

So he chose honesty. "They got nothing. My face wasn't even clearly visible on that tape, but they might keep me anyway cause of my last name." In other words 'fuck if I know.

The glint he'd been looking for before suddenly appeared. "My sis will probably get me a lawyer, but I smirked at millions of britannians on primetime TV. They won't let me off even if I had my weight in gold for bribes, but you might. Get in touch with your old connections and wiggle your way out."

Suzaku was surprised. Not by his request to use his family connections. He expected that had gotten him accepted into the Blood in the first place. No, he was surprised by the lack of self-preservation. Why wasn't he pleading to get him out as well?

Mizuka bit his lip and said softly "Promise me you'll take care of my sister." Apparently he had been too drunk to remember he'd already asked. Or wasn't sure that Suzaku had remembered.

Suzaku looked him in the eye and said earnestly "I promise."

Suzaku kept silent though on the fact that said sister already hated his guts. And that he was the one who had caused them so much misery. Even if they somewhat deserved it for mixing with terrorists. He knew they were good people who got mixed up with a bad crowd.

He didn't want to believe they became tainted beyond redemption. If they were then so was he.

He felt slimy when he solemnly promised to do the best he could. Maybe he could get Mayuki to quit the Black Knights before she got in too deep. It was the least he could do.

He would also have to look into finding her a new place to stay. He doubted she would want to crash at his place. But if he didn't find something else she'd probably ask the Black Knights. The last thing he wanted was for them to get their claws deeper into Mayuki.

Mizuka whispered a heartfelt "Thanks." in return.

They stayed silent for a moment. But eventually they start chatting about more random stuff. The hours passed and food finally showed up. It wasn't enough to silence his grumbling stomach though. Mizuka nonchalantly pushed some of his food his way but said nothing. Suzaku tried to give it back but Mizuka would have none of it. Eventually he accepted it.

He thought it might be thanks for agreeing to take care of his sister. The realization only made the food taste ashen in his mouth though.

Eventually they both decided to go to sleep. There wasn't anything better to do. And so the days passed. Mizuka seemed content with just wasting away like this. He didn't talk back to the guards or say anything about the Blood. No matter how many times he cycled through his talking points. He only seemed interested in Suzaku's chances of getting out.

Until one day a guard rapped his baton on the prison bars. As soon as he got their attention he sneered "Apparently you got some high placed friends Kururugi. You're being released."

Suzaku glanced at Mizuka and saw the joy and relief plastered on his face. The familiar smirk was back in full force. He got up and walked towards the guard. He looked back just as he was about to leave the cell. Mizuka mouthed something to him.

He imagined it was a reminder of his promise. He didn't need to hear the words to know their meaning. He nodded back to convey his determination to do just that. Before he was taken away and disappeared from Mizuka's sight.

He was lead to the guard's room and debriefed. They had heard everything like Mizuka had suspected. They'd decided that this lead wasn't panning out. He was to return to the Blood. How he was supposed to get in touch with them was a bit of a mystery. But they figured they would do so themselves.

They'd be curious about how he got out. But reassuring rumors of powerful friends bribing the police would get them interested enough to welcome him back with open arms. They even joked that he probably wouldn't have to put out for a while either. They'd sweet talk him first.

Suzaku suffered silently with a grin on his face. Something was rotting. But he couldn't tell if it was him or them. With a pad on the back he was sent out with new orders, new targets, and new friends to betray.

A new Mizuka and Mayuki…

* * *

**Author's note**

Special thanks go to Scarease who gave me his OCs to use. The background info he gave me combined with some politically themed shows inspired this chapter.

Also thanks go to MM browsing who constantly discusses plot development with me and is helping me hammer out my doomsday scenario. The basic plot for this was inspired by our talks.

And finally thanks to asaxander740 who betaed this chapter.

**Clarification on nukes**

I'm not saying America has to get rid of their nukes. I just called them useless and a waste of money. That you think that's what I meant sort of implies that you think it's a good idea deep down. Since that is your natural conclusion.

I have a problem with how badly you take care of them. The nuclear program had to wedge a crowbar in between doors to keep them open. This combined with said personnel issues makes me nervous.

I'm not really concerned about myself. I live in a neutral to pro America country so I have nothing to be afraid off.

I don't think my country will get blown of the map. It was a joke and so was the above, but again that you think I was serious sort of implies that you think it's the natural conclusion.

Personally I'm in favor of America having a hundred to two hundred nukes. It's enough to keep North Korea in line and perhaps threaten the Middle East, Russia and China. But it's a lot more manageable number where you don't lose track of some of them.

I'm also not against using nukes to be totally clear. It's just that they don't work as a deterrent if no one believes you'll use them, and no one will believe you'll use them until someone nukes you first or creates another catastrophe of similar proportions. Even during the Cold War there were still wars and afterwards there are wars. Russia and America could agree to bomb two warring countries together, and those countries would still shrug at them.

The fact that no one believes you will is however a good thing. If they did than you'd be the dictator of the world. You got a bad enough rep for openly talking about bombing countries with your drones.

If another threat like Nazi Germany or Stalin's USSR appears then yes you can nuke them, but just assassinate North Korea's leadership please. The people aren't at fault.

Nukes are useful but they shouldn't be used merely to limit casualties. Human life shouldn't be valued solely on nationality. And frankly we value western lives more than eastern and a shit load more than African. So killing millions to save a few hundred becomes possible, I disagree with that thought.

Suffering casualties is what makes a war real to people. Without it you can button mash on the launch a nuke button, like you're already doing with your drones. people were okay with bombing syria without even being able to point it out on a map. Granted i'd make a rough guess myself, but i'm not in favor of bombing the place. The disinterest people have in how their government treats WMDs and the easy acceptance in using lesser weapons is troubling. This indiferrence combined with the fear propaganda that's widespread in american media is morbidly funny.

Side note civil forfeiture exists in America, and the title is the name of an actual court case.


	26. Merry Christmas

**Arc Nine The Battle of Narita **

**Chapter Twenty Six Merry Christmas **

**Ohgi **

Ohgi was worried about Kallen, which wasn't that different from his normal state but now he was really worried about Kallen. She hadn't gone to her school the last few days and was standoffish against other Black Knights.

Sugiyama and the others weren't helping either. They didn't openly accuse Kallen or insult her. But they did glare at her whenever she walked by.

They had both known Kallen and Tamaki for years, but when it came down to it, they were better friends with Tamaki than Kallen despite all of his faults. It was a simple case of spending more time with each other and having more in common.

Kallens extremist attitude didn't do her any favors either. She had always pushed for dangerous missions and accepted the risks without blinking. The others got dragged into her pace back then. But now it seemed like she never cared about their lives to begin with.

He hoped there was still a way to mend fences but he honestly didn't believe there was. It was only a matter of time before it came to a head and lines were drawn, either Kallen left the Black Knights or they did.

He knew Kallen's simulation score was by far the best in the entire organization meaning Zero would never part with his ace pilot, even if the rest of the organization rebelled. The rest probably knew it too and were worried about being left out in the cold whenever Kallen decided to snap again.

He somehow had to reassure them that nothing bad was going to happen, so long as they trusted each other. But that kind of flew out the window when Kallen murdered a long standing friend in cold blood.

He sighed as he wracked his head for a solution to the problem. He came up blank yet again. Maybe he should call Zero and ask if he had a better idea, well any idea.

* * *

**Hotel in Tokyo **

Lelouch frowned as he was going over some reports from the EU. They were somewhat outdated. A active war zone where you weren't supposed to be, made it difficult to stay in touch.

"Bad news?" asked C.C. in between reading fascinating articles in some teen magazine. How a grown woman, for that was what she was, found them interesting was beyond him. Heck she'd make his granny look young. Hmm, maybe she was researching how to blend in?

He couldn't help but picture a grown woman trying to act hip and hang with her daughter's friends. Well, in C.C's case a wrinkly old bat was more accurate.

"Not exactly, I expected as much but it's still annoying."

"Oh did Jerry finally gather the courage to send you a love letter?" mocked C.C. when she spotted who the report was from.

Lelouch narrowed his eyes at her despite it being a exercise In futility. "No he reported that Britannia has found out about our air grid and has started digging it up where possible and clogging it where it isn't. At this rate it will only be a matter of time before they take control of the desert."

"Aren't the defenses at El Alamein finished by now?" asked C.C.

"They are but Schneizel himself is leading the attack. Unless I manage to free up time to go there myself and wrest control of a army with my geass. Schneizel will win in less than three months."

"You're still tied up in Japan." C.C pointed out "If you leave now everything you've built up will fall apart."

He sighed "I know but I can't expect Jeremiah to hold them back any longer. So I'm recalling him to join me here in Japan."

She flipped a page and stared at a model who was skinnier than her. "I doubt the Black Knights will be welcoming of a Britannian noble."

"True though he may be publicly announced as a traitor. It won't make much of a difference to most of the Black Knights." He grabbed a handful of his hair and gave himself a improvised scalp massage.

"Will you have him play dress up?" her finger hovered over a picture of a model wearing a long woolen coat.

"If you're suggesting I have him wear that synthetic mask then yes I am. It may be uncomfortable to wear, but he only needs to wear it when the Black Knights are in the room. But l think I'll use him as a spy instead. He won't be given a second look in Britannian areas allowing him to measure the political climate for me."

"You sure? If someone competent saw him they could start a manhunt." She got up and walked to the closet to see if her clothes matched whatever she wanted to buy.

Lelouch nodded "If they do then I'll just geass the head-hunters myself to fake it like I did for you."

C.C turned her head to look at him over her shoulder. "You still have them pretending to look for me?" questioned C.C. sounding both surprised and something else he couldn't place.

Lelouch shook it off however and decided to sound as patronizing as possible "Off course, just because they are willing to follow my every order doesn't mean they don't have to explain themselves to others. By having them come up empty instead of refusing outright, they won't get replaced and I can find out more about the one in charge."

The look on C.C's face was priceless. It felt good to finally pay her back some for all her witty little remarks.

She recovered though "And have you found anything about those hunting me?"

"Nothing concrete." He admitted after a pause. "They seemed not to know what you were exactly and were following old legends as a guide. But most interesting was that they seemed determined to find out about some kind of order that actually knows about geass itself. You could say they are the hunters and you were the bait for their prey. Though they decided to take advantage of you first before using you as bait."

"How lucky." C.C. stated in a monotone voice

Lelouch flinched. No one should ever describe the things C.C. went through under Clovis as lucky. "I'm sorry I didn't mean to imply…."

He wasn't sure what he had been implying or what he was even talking about now. He just knew he was sorry. For what exactly he wasn't sure about either. Did he wish: he hadn't brought it up, that she hadn't gone through it, or imply that finding out more about the hunters was more important than giving her justice. The bastards still walked free because he had deemed it more prudent. Should he offer her revenge as a peace offering?

"Don't worry about it Lelouch, it's nothing. I've experienced worse in my long existence." for a moment she seemed more sad and vulnerable than he'd ever seen her before.

"I see." Lelouch said hesitantly though the statement didn't reassure him one bit. If anything it only unnerved him more. It was like hearing someone say 'Don't worry I've been to a concentration camp, so a missed meal is nothing.'

C.C pulled out a few clothes with a bit more force than necessary and pointedly held them against her body."So did these hunters have any luck finding their prey?"

Lelouch swallowed the lump in his throat and was grateful for the subject change. "Not yet they were close a few years back but the prey moved out of Britannian borders all together. The hunters now believe it is hiding in one of the other super powers or neutral countries. They can't search openly in those countries. So they are waiting for Britannia to conquer them to continue their search."

C.C discarded a blouse that would clash with whatever she was planning on buying "A inevitability to be sure, but can they really afford to be that patient. It may not happen within their lifetimes."

"The hunters are lead by Schneizel. So I think he might just succeed in conquering the world before he turns grey."

She mocked again. "Are we hoping for Schneizel to succeed then, so you can catch your prey?"

Lelouch consciously relaxed his jaw and forced himself not to gaze at her too intensely "Off course not, it's merely a interesting side project." Though how easily C.C had seen his interest undermined that statement even as he said it.

She however had no trouble highlighting it even more. "The source of your power with which you intend to take over the world is merely a side project huh?"

"I admit it deserves attention but I can't keep chasing shadows." He really couldn't. Despite how much he wanted to. "I've already delayed the debut of the Black Knights to follow up on leads from Schneizel's group. To stand any chance of actually catching them when the time comes I'll need a stronger army because they will hide behind the skirts of the Empire."

"My knight in shining armor to the rescue." mocked C.C. while grabbing and giving his biceps a squeeze. The lack of resistance or definition said it all.

Lelouch ignored it but shook her of rudely nonetheless. "Don't misunderstand, our goals in getting rid of your pursuers merely align." The smirk she gave him told him she didn't believe him. But she didn't call him on it either. "Speaking of mutual interests, I had to fulfill one wish of yours, mind telling me what it is? So I can get started on planning it out."

She stepped back and let herself fall onto the bed. "My wish isn't something that can be planned Lelouch. " C.C. replied as she stretched on the bed and turned her back on him "I'll tell you when you're ready and not before."

"Humph fine be that way but remember this: I always honor my contracts. The word of the king is his bond without it he is powerless and everything he has built will fall into ruin."

"Already daydreaming about ruling the world before you conquer it huh, you better not count your chickens before they hatch Lelouch. Anyways I'll be holding you to that and you may not like the results in the end."

Lelouch was slightly put off by the earnestness in her voice. But his conviction trumped any misgivings he felt. "Everything has a cost and sometimes a fleeting pleasure can cost you for the rest of your life. I fully expect geass to take its toll on me someday. But I'll bear the costs if i can achieve my goals first."

They stared at each other for a while. Lelouch could feel her measuring his determination with her gaze. He didn't back down and kept on staring into her golden orbs. Eventually she was the one to break eye contact.

"Anyways getting back to the original point do you intend to escalate events here in Japan to prepare your private army to step onto the world stage?"

"I am, either they will survive the test of fire or I'll discard them in favor of my original plan of making a European army."

Public sentiment had shifted in the EU. The inevitability of war with Britannia had seeped in and victory seemed possible with the string of African successes. The metal was still heating up in the furnace as it were, but soon he could forge it into his army. An army that would win him the EU and then defeat Britannia.

"So do you intend to attack Britannia now?"

"No I got some interesting information from Viletta. So I think I'll be going on a hiking trip this weekend."

"Great, then we can go shopping for hiking boots tomorrow." replied C.C and pulled out a catalogue out of seemingly nowhere. While the teen magazine lied forgotten on the bed.

"What?" croaked Lelouch his face clearly betraying the level of dread he felt at the torture. Standing around endlessly he could deal with, being bored out of his mind he could cope with, but getting asked inane questions one after the other was too much.

The memories of when Milly took him shopping for a dress had nothing to do with it. It wasn't his fault that he lacked the boobs to keep the dress from falling down. He still rocked it though. He just had to duct tape it.

"I'm also inviting Kaguya to come along. It'll be fun." Lelouch glanced at the pistol lying on the table. "And don't even think about it or I'll fly in Milly as well."

Maybe he should threaten to kill himself instead of her?

* * *

**Black knights headquarters **

**Ohgi**

Ohgi finally had a chance to speak to Zero about Kallen's new attitude and treatment within the group. But before he could grab his leader's attention Zero himself announced he had something to say. Everyone dropped what they were doing and quickly gathered around him.

"Everyone load up the thermal spears and knightmares and prepare for battle! We're going to reinforce the JLF this weekend!"

It didn't take long before everyone caught on to the meaning of the word reinforce.

"Huh the britannians are going to attack the JLF?" mumbled one member before another realized "If the britannians are going to attack the biggest group in all of Japan then they must have over a hundred knightmares while we only have little over a thirty."

"Yeah you already sold over a hundred to the JLF! We already did our part, the rest is up to them."

"Those were glasgows, but Cornelia is coming at them with Sutherlands." countered Zero

"All the more reason for us not to get involved!" argued another Black Knight member

"So you have already forgotten our pledge to cast down the strong oppressing the weak."

The reminder or guilt trip didn't instill any confidence in his men "Very well then." accepted Zero "Kallen will you join me?"

Kallen answered without any hesitation whatsoever "Off course."

"Thank you, it's good to know I can always count on you."

Ohgi could practically feel his male ego getting insulted. A little girl was brave enough to volunteer while he was too chicken. Pure machismo nearly pushed him over the edge to volunteer as well. But he held back and waited for the group to decide.

He idly noted that this was the perfect spot for Tamaki to insert his enthusiasm to get the rest motivated. But no one stepped forward and the silence became oppressing and conformity stopped the others.

"I see." noted Zero in a tone that showed his disappointment in our cowardice. "In that case we'll complete the mission without you."

"What!" blurted out several black knights "You can't do this alone, that's suicide!"

Zero looked not at them but at Kallen for signs of her folding under the pressure but she didn't even flinch.

"Q2 already picked the members most likely to agree to join me. They are in a different location."

Now that Zero mentioned it, Ohgi noticed that several Black Knights who hanged around HQ almost permanently weren't around. He also didn't see most of the skilled members who got promoted for it. Did that mean that only the bottom of the barrel so to speak was present?

"I only asked you separately to judge your courage in the face of adversity before testing it on the battlefield. My conclusion is that you would all rout when pressured, and on the battlefield a routing soldier is worse than a dead one! It endangers his comrades as well. You will all be transferred to the economic division of the Black Knights effective immedi.."

"Wait!" yelled Ohgi "I'll join you!" He didn't know what came over him but he wasn't going to let Kallen fight alone or turn his back on Japan and just become a paper pusher.

His call then inspired others or maybe they were goaded into volunteering, he didn't know. But for now everyone was with him and that was all that mattered and also they now respected Kallen a bit more thanks to her fearless attitude.

They probably hadn't forgiven her yet for killing Tamaki. Heck he couldn't honestly say he had, but they were working through it.

Zero looked at them and seemed to be convinced by their enthusiasm. He grudgingly allowed them to participate in the mission.

* * *

**Narita mountain range**

Kallen looked out towards the Narita mountain where the JLF was supposedly located from her smaller mountain top.

She understood the basic concepts of a anvil and hammer tactic followed by a bait and trap but would it really work against Cornelia of all people?

She hadn't gotten any more details from Zero. But from what he intimated Narita was intended to become a bloodbath, the only question was which side.

She ducked back under her cover once she spotted a VTOL coming overhead to deliver a knightmare to the battlefield. According to the combined counts of the Black Knights' spotters princess Cornelia's force numbered roughly at a hundred and twenty knightmares and they were all Sutherlands.

Britannia had really been stepping up their efforts to modernize their forces ever since their Sutherlands were captured at Kawaguchi.

She guessed that Britannian pride couldn't handle the fact that for once they were being outmatched on the battlefield. Every noble in the Empire must have come begging for a brand new Sutherland now that the filthy numbers had them as well.

Though she didn't quite share Zero's glee at the financial burden the Empire must be enduring to retire perfectly good and serviceable glasgows. She did like the thought of the britannians running like scared little children to their mommy because the mean bully scared them.

But right now she would have preferred the old glasgows rather than brand new Sutherlands that outclassed their force by a large degree.

* * *

**Narita mountain secret JLF base**

**General Katase **

"General we're being attacked by Britannia!" yelled one of his subordinates as he rushed into the room.

General Katase dropped the cup of tea he was drinking and immediately scrambled out of his Seiza position. He ran to the door on his hands and feet for the first few steps before he got upright. All sense of etiquette was forgotten in the face of this threat.

"How many are there?" He asked as he made his way over to the control room.

"We're still counting but we estimate over a hundred Sutherlands sir."

"What Sutherlands!" exclaimed general Katase

He had been prepared to deal with glasgows but Sutherlands were a different matter all together. He had run several drills with the Sutherlands he had obtained from the Black Knights and their specs were a large obstacle to overcome for his soldiers.

He had given his men paint pallets and stacked the numbers against Tohdoh and his Holy Swords but they still emerged victorious with a pyrrhic victory. Those results had been encouraging when he thought he had the only Sutherlands in Japan. But now that princess Cornelia has turned her entire force into Sutherlands they were at a even worse disadvantage.

The Holy Swords would be checked by the Royal Guard and his glasgows would lose against the Sutherlands. He might gain an early advantage if he used his conventional weaponry wisely. But even with guerrilla warfare he doubted he could overcome the technological disparity.

He arrived in the control room and surveyed the enemy emplacement. It didn't take long before he gritted his teeth in annoyance. The princess had cut off all escape routes and had shown up with a large force that was technologically superior.

Three companies were arrayed to storm the mountain while two smaller groups were at his back to cut of his retreat and were in a prime position to attack him from behind if he ventured out to meet princess Cornelia.

He would have preferred to attack those smaller groups and break out. But those smaller groups had chosen a easily defensible area meaning it would take too long to clear the path. It would give Cornelia enough time to move her three companies up to attack him from behind.

He could try to risk a brazen push straight through hostile territory without taking them out but the casualties would be enormous and he would have to leave behind his supplies. The resistance would be finished whether he escaped or not, so that option was inconceivable.

"General Katase we have received a transmission from princess Cornelia's forces requesting our surrender!"

"Fools" reprimanded general Katase "If we surrender here then the Japanese resistance is finished."

"But general.. " protested one officer before falling silent under his glare.

"…"

"General do we try to break out or do we barricade ourselves in?" asked one of his officers when he didn't give a order right away.

He narrowed his eyes as he thought about the option to barricade himself in. The Narita base had been built to withstand air raids and artillery barrages not a knightmare assault. The secret tunnels to the base would be found eventually and a knightmare could plant explosives to collapse them and trap the JLF inside.

They had some equipment to dig themselves out but it would take time and the air vents to the base would become a crucial weakness then. He had heard that the reason for the Shinjuku massacre had been to retrieve poison gas. If Britannia was willing to violate international agreements to make it, then they had to have a reason for it. And what better reason than to drop some poison gas into his air vents and kill the entire JLF without a fight.

No he couldn't sit and wait but neither could he expect to fight and win. He needed another opinion "Tohdoh" He muttered in realization

"Where is Tohdoh?" He asked the room at large

"He is returning with the four Holy Swords from picking up their new knightmares from Kyoto. They will be here soon."

General Katase knew that the battle was going to start any minute. So Tohdoh wasn't going to make it and he had to make his decision before it was too late.

After thinking about it he decided to at least deploy his knightmares before he got trapped inside the mountain. But they would then attract the Sutherlands like flies to honey. So he had to make a break out attempt or waste his chance all together.

"Tohdoh isn't going to make it." He announced to the room "Deploy the glasgows!"

"We'll break through their siege at a single point and make our escape."

"Go, knowing the pride of Japan goes with you!" He said to inspire his men with nationalistic pride. "Now is the time to turn the tide!"

* * *

**Fifteen minutes later, in the midst of battle, Britannian front lines against the JLF. **

**Princess Cornelia.**

Cornelia pierced another Glasgow with her lance and used its body as a shield while she unloaded a clip into another two glasgows coming to reinforce their fallen brethren.

"There is no end to them." commented Guilford

Cornelia couldn't help but share the sentiment. She had expected to overwhelm the JLF in numbers and technology. But somehow they had gotten their hands on a large number of glasgows. She was actually being outnumbered by them.

Her pilots were still superior and more experienced though. But she was still suffering heavy losses from massed fire. The JLF had taken a bold risk by attacking her directly with all their forces to force her surrender by taking her out.

She had to compliment their bravery and assertiveness, but the noose was drawing around their necks all the quicker. Her men were holding steady against the onslaught and Darlton and Alex were encircling them as they fought. It was only a matter of time before the JLF would be shot to pieces from all sides.

"We just need to hold a little longer. Alex will hit them in their rear soon and this battle will be ours." She encouraged her men.

She discarded her shield and pressed forward once more to break up their formation and to prevent herself from being surrounded by her enemies.

A emergency transmission came in from the G1 mobile base "What is it Euphy?" She asked impatiently

Normally she would be more gentle and understanding, but right now she needed to focus or she would die despite the best efforts of her knight.

"The flanking group to the north east has been hit by a surprise attack and has been wiped out." Euphie quickly stated before she got cut off, though Cornelia could hear the restrained panic in her voice.

"What! There were over twenty knightmares stationed there, how the hell did they get wiped out?" asked Cornelia in outrage, the JLF shouldn't have that kind of firepower left. What the hell had her intelligence officers been doing? Did they get bribed or something, or was it just gross incompetence?"

"We're still piecing it together but from garbled transmissions, some kind of explosive and acid combination rained down on them and destroyed their knightmares."

Cornelia gritted her teeth as she tried to find a lull in the battle to think this over. Did the JLF have a flanking force in reserve?

No they would have attacked the G1 base then or her rear directly to finish her off but instead they attacked a idle force. They could be trying to secure a escape route for their leaders, but even still.

If they had such a explosive weapon why didn't they use it on Darlton's or Alex's platoons. The only reason had to be they just hadn't done so yet, or they lacked the blast radius to catch that many knightmares at once.

Either way she was dealing with enemy reinforcements while she was already being stretched too thin for her liking.

"Euphy order reinforcements from nearby bases. I want another hundred knightmares on the ground within the hour!"

There was a pregnant silence during which Euphy no doubt conferred with her advisors "Sister it'll take us at least two hours to gather that many Sutherlands from nearby bases. We simply can't provide that much support within that time frame."

" Use glasgows instead of Sutherlands then, and airlift them into the area. I might be facing a third party here and I want some more units in reserve, in case I need them."

"Very well viceroy." confirmed one of the advisors

Cornelia refocused on the fight and hailed Alex

"My princess I'm nearly in position to strike their rear."

"Good but I want you to only perform two charges before withdrawing and move towards the North East."

"My lady?" asked Alex uncertainly at the illogical order

Cornelia decided to explain It to him "Flanking group B has been ambushed by a stealth force from the JLF or a third party. I need you to guard our right flank if it comes to attack us."

They'd be like a predator ready to pounce on the JLF once more, forcing them to watch their backs while fending off the snake in the grass at the same time. It was a bit counter intuitive, but she needed him in reserve more than she needed him to crush the JLF.

"Yes your highness." confirmed Alex and performed the sorties.

Cornelia relaxed for the moment and waited for her opponent's next move. But it didn't come, even though the JLF forces were being slaughtered in her trap.

"Tch the ambushers must have turned tail, because they feared a massacre when they learned about my encirclement." She grumbled to herself

"Alex pursue the ambush force in the north east at once. I fear they may be fleeing the battlefield. I don't want to hunt them down across the country later on."

It was annoying enough to force these rats to fight at any given time, but chasing a scared one was frustrating and could cause a lot of collateral damage.

* * *

**A mile east of flanking group B inside the forest.**

**Half hour ago **

Kallen double-checked her thermal lance for any malfunctions before she led the charge to ambush the enemy.

Her target had positioned themselves behind a rocky outcropping with their backs to the forest, allowing for a easy fighting retreat if necessary. It allowed for plenty of solid cover against a outbreak from the JLF but it also covered her approach.

"Alright men lets move in!" She announced" And remember to go slow or they'll hear us coming."

She got confirmations from her platoon and slowly zigged and zagged through the forest. While she was doing that, she listened to Inoue's periodic updates on the state of the JLF and Cornelia's forces.

It didn't take a genius to figure out that the JLF was screwed, once word of how the other platoons were flanking them filtered through.

Zero had praised the move to take out the general, because it showed they knew a army was more than just numbers. Kallen however wasn't so sure.

She agreed that wounding or even killing the viceroy could force the retreat because the soldiers would be more preoccupied with saving their precious princess or too demoralized to continue.

But they would also want bloody revenge if their leader was slain and if it was a good tactic, then surely they expected it and were prepared for it right?

She put it out of her mind as she neared the edge of the forest. She wasn't going to go for the viceroy after all. She was going to secure a retreat route for the JLF.

She burst through the tree line into the clearing behind the rocky outcropping, followed by the rest of her men and immediately lifted her spear high above her head.

"On my mark!" She called

The rest of her platoon readied their spears and waited as they aimed it towards the crouching Sutherlands, that were only now turning around to face them.

" Mark!" She yelled and threw her spear in a arc at her enemies. Her platoon's spears followed her spear in a hail that cast a spotty shadow on the ground.

She tensed as she waited for the detonation to go off. She had read the manual about the special feature of the thermal lance's second mode called firestorm.

She personally thought javelin was a better suited name because it described the function better but couldn't deny that firestorm sounded more impressive.

The thermal lances were now just in front of the Sutherlands and exploded outward in a spiraling tornado of flames and molten metal. The tornadoes mixed together and consumed her vision. She had no clue what was happening for a fraction of a second, but that was all the time it needed.

The flames from the blast receded, but the knightmares that remained were on fire still thanks to the burning metal that was eating its way through their armor.

Kallen's eyes widened as she watched the flames engulf the Sutherlands and the molten slag eat through their armor to the sensitive electronics underneath. It didn't take long before a lucky hit happened and some white hot metal burned its way towards the sakuradite supply and blew up the entire knightmare.

She guessed she now knew why it was called firestorm instead of javelin, if anything the name was a understatement. It had wiped out almost twenty knightmares all at once, though it did take thirty thrown thermal lances thrown in concert. She doubted the lance would be as effective thrown individually.

The effect was basically a spinning chaos mine, it left no room for dodging but the dispersal also meant low damage per square meter.

"Alright, we mopped the floor with those Britannian bastards!" called one of her subordinates.

She didn't feel comfortable reeling him in, considering she still held a shaky position within the group. So she just focused on taking out the remaining knightmares herself.

The four knightmares were too damaged to put up much of a fight so two clips of her assault rifle neutralized them before they could eject. Zero had given strict orders to keep firestorm mode a secret for as long as possible. So she couldn't let them escape or even radio HQ.

"Everyone take up positions between the rocks!" She called through the celebrations and congratulations of her team.

She got in position and powered down her knightmare to conserve her energy and waited. They only had thirty knightmares, so going into the thick of it, where Britannia still had eighty knightmares and was kicking the JLF's ass wasn't a smart move.

The element of surprise and flanking wasn't going to be enough to turn the tide according to Zero. So they were going into a holding action to lure the closest platoon to them.

She listened to the idle chitchat or her squad mates to pass the time. She would have jumped right in the middle before, but she felt distinctly uncomfortable to let her voice be heard now.

She wondered why Zero put her in charge of the knightmare platoon instead of Ohgi. Was It because she volunteered first or was It something else?

"Kallen they're coming!" warned Ohgi

"I'm Q1 remember!" She reminded Ohgi. No wonder Zero had a easy time tracking them down and refused to give out his real name if they were that careless with it.

She powered up her Glasgow as she watched the Sutherlands approach through her cockpit window.

"Aright men let's give em hell!" She called as she fired her assault rifle in a wide arc at the approaching Sutherlands to score some hits, before they spread out in a looser formation.

She quickly ducked her knightmare back behind cover when the returning salvo came. The 25 MM streamers steadily chipped away at her rock ,forcing her to move eventually but for now she was fine.

"Anyone got a number on them." She asked her platoon

"I think there's only about thirty of them. We can take them right here with this cover." replied Ohgi.

Kallen mulled over his statement, but she could see that most of her team mates were missing the enemy thanks to their evasive maneuvers. The only kills so far had been scored by her. They would do better once the gap was closed but then the Sutherlands would switch to close quarters combat and obliterate them.

"No we stick to the plan Ohgi, don't get overconfident."

She broke cover and fired another clip at her enemies and watched them cross the imaginary line she had been given. "Alright that's it guys, they're close enough. Fall back to point F14!"

She ignored her teams confirmations and focused on laying down suppressing fire for their retreat. Once the last one reached the forest line she too backed off, but by then her cover had degraded too much and they scored several glancing hits on her right arm.

She purged the arm in annoyance when she realized it was now dead weight. She grabbed a assault rifle from the ground from one of the fallen Sutherlands she had taken out earlier to replace hers.

She didn't want to waste time trying to pry a nearly empty assault rifle from the fingers of her discarded arm.

She kept on running and fired a wide blanket of fire to prevent the Sutherlands from getting too close before she reached the trees.

The rocky outcroppings now worked to her detriment as it concealed the lunge of a Sutherland that had gone around.

She desperately held her newly acquired assault rifle in front of her to deflect his lance to the side but it was destroyed in the process. She immediately discarded it as well and twisted on the spot and brought out her stun tonfas. The move generated a lot of centrifugal force allowing her to pierce straight through the cockpit in one attack.

She tried pulling free, but her arm was stuck and she needed another arm to push the knightmare off it. She groaned in frustration and cursed as she had to purge her last arm before she got attacked from behind.

She reached the forest line before they got close and the trees absorbed their bullets for her.

She opened her throttle wide open and performed several highly dangerous stunts to avoid crashing head first into the trees. Her crazy acrobatics soon gave her a lead on her pursuers. She eased off on the throttle to prevent them from losing her.

Zero confirmed her unspoken question "Q1 we're ready for you."

He must have gotten word from those who went on ahead "I'll be there in two minutes." She responded

She smiled as she heard the Sutherlands crashing through the undergrowth in their reckless pursuit. She would have fired off some rounds at them to motivate them some more but she couldn't because she was armless.

It didn't matter though with her opponent chasing her like a crazed bull. She burst into a clearing with a U shaped ditch lying at the edges all around her.

She turned her knightmare around and started driving backwards to keep a eye out for the approaching Sutherlands.

She could hear them coming before she saw them, thanks to one of them crashing into a tree on the way. He must have underestimated the strength of one of the saplings.

They emerged from the tree line in two and threes and she fired her slash harken at them, even though it could barely reach them.

"That's close enough Q1, eject now!" ordered Zero hurriedly

His voice was tinged with a little bit of panic now that she was caught in the open with no place to run.

Kallen was all too happy to comply with a dozen knightmares about to open fire on her. She ejected and from her screen she watched the weapon Zero had gotten from the JLF emerge from the ditches.


	27. Blowing up Balloons

**Chapter Twenty Seven Blowing up Balloons**

**The U shaped trench**

Sugiyama waited tensely for his friends to come bursting through the brush. He didn't want to think about what would happen if those Sutherlands managed to catch them. But luckily that bitch had stayed behind as the rear guard action. He could accept it, if she was the only casualty today.

It wasn't long before his friends entered the clearing safe and sound and he could relax. Now he just had to hope the enemy took the bait and entered the trap.

If not then he was ejecting at the first sign of trouble. He still hadn't quite figured out how he had been tricked into coming. But he wasn't going to die on a fool's mission.

"Everyone ready yourselves, the enemy will be here in less than two minutes" announced Zero.

Sugiyama confirmed like the rest and waited to ambush the Britannian scum. Kallen burst through the tree line, armless and with several scratches on the paintjob. The knightmare was already on its last legs and would be destroyed soon if it wasn't for his intervention.

He waited for her to lure the Sutherlands further in but that bitch ejected before they even cleared the trees. "That cowardly bitch, can't she do her job right!" complained Sugiyama

"Right arm stand up and take aim." commanded Zero

Sugiyama grunted in annoyance but piloted his Glasgow in concert with his friends to lift the Raikou cannon up from the ditch.

"Okay take aim guys." relayed Sugiyama though they heard as well.

"And fire!" ordered Zero

At once everyone at the right side of the U shaped ditch fired at the left flank of the Sutherlands. The effect was devastating but there were still survivors

"Right arm get back under cover and left arm stand up." called Zero immediately as if he had expected as much.

Sugiyama hastily complied before he got shot by any stray shrapnel from the other side. There were still about fifteen knightmares left over and were coming his way to take him out before he could finish reloading.

Sugiyama smiled wickedly as he heard the order to fire again over the radio followed by another large swath of Sutherlands being taken out.

Sugiyama popped his sensor sphere open just above the ridge to take a look at how many were left.

There were only four left, the last salvo had been less effective than the first due to them being more spread out but it was still a good result. Now they just had to fire from the centre and they would be finished.

'Wait where are they going?' thought sugiyama "Tch they're running back into the trees for cover!"

"Centre line fire at will!" ordered Zero hurriedly "N2 take command of Q1's platoon and prepare to chase down the enemy if they get clear of our trap!"

The four knightmares made it out of the clearing and the Raikou shots got largely absorbed by the trees but it did take out one more knightmare.

"N2 cut off their path to Cornelia's forces right now. We can't let them link back up and report!"

"Roger we're in position and intercepting now."

* * *

**Five minutes ago**

Ohgi counted everyone who came back on his IFF screen and noticed he missed Kallen. Goddamn it, did she fall behind?

His worries were allayed when he heard Zero and Kallen over the radio and he found her on his screen still in the forest. Ohgi gritted his teeth in realization that Kallen had protected their backs while everyone was calling her a bitch behind her back.

He calmed everyone down and reorganized them around him so he could go save Kallen, orders be damned. But before he recklessly broke formation Zero ordered her to eject to his relief.

He watched the enemies get blindsided again and again, it was basically a one sided massacre. But his memories of how the britannians murdered his students right before his eyes while he was powerless to stop it, dampened any pity he might feel for them.

He was snapped from his painful memories by the order to reorganize his group. He luckily already had done so without being told, so instead he edged closer to the opening of the U shaped ditch in case they made it out.

His precaution paid off because three knightmares did manage to escape and he ordered his team to head them off.

The Sutherlands were panicking and rushing blindly in a attempt to get away. As a result they were more clumsy in navigating around the trees and Ohgi soon caught up with them and unloaded his entire clip in them.

Two were destroyed and one managed to eject. With a heavy heart Ohgi raised his assault rifle up to the skies and shot that one down as well.

He grimly realized he just snuffed out the only possible survivor of the massacre he helped orchestrate. The ejection pods during the firestorm ambush got taken out by the molten slag flying skyward and the trees blocked off a good ejection angle in the forest.

But the sudden burst of firepower had caught these Sutherlands so much by surprise that they barely had the time to eject in between shots. But they hadn't expected another round to come so soon.

He smiled at the realization they had just destroyed over fifty knghtmares while only losing one. Not even at Itsukushima had the Japanese won such a decisive victory. If anything Itsukushima had been a pyrrhic victory but it gave hope to the world over that the knightmares could be beaten without knightmares.

But now for the first time the Japanese had a chance to score a important victory that wasn't built on the countless corpses of their family and friends.

* * *

Lelouch smiled demonically as soon as he heard Ohgi's report that the last ones had been caught as well. Now he only needed to get to the top of the mountain and victory was his.

"Everyone form up around our trucks and make your way up the mountain now that the eastern road is clear"

He then changed the channel to hail the JLF to get their cooperation for the next part. He didn't need it but it would make things easier on his part.

* * *

**Narita mountain base**

General Katase watched grimly as his troops turned to lost signals one by one. He had managed to avoid the trap by retreating to the east in the gap provided there by the detaching company. He had lost the majority of his knightmares but at least he had avoided a complete loss for now.

He muttered absentmindedly "Where are you Tohdoh?"

He needed another miracle to turn this around. But with Tohdoh still en route and his troops getting hammered by Cornelia he didn't see how it was possible.

"General the flanking group and the company that disengaged are both gone from the map sir"

"What when did this happen?" general Katase asked surprised at this oversight.

"We don't know sir we assumed they were scrambling our sensors before because they suddenly vanished from the map all at once but visual scouts report that there is no sign of the enemy."

"Then where could they have possibly gone. Did they try to flank us somehow, no if they did we would have noticed by now. We know every approach on this mountain and planted sensors along every one of them."

"There's a incoming transmission sir"

"Another demand to surrender huh, Cornelia sure is persistent" commented general Katase. The chances of clearing a way out to escape was slim and he was just wasting lives now. But they were going to be executed if they surrendered anyway. So they might as well die fighting.

"No general this one is apparently from the Black Knights"

Huh what did that band of good Samaritans want from him now. He doubted those idealist would have the stomach to accept the cruelties of war so they were unlikely to help him. They already proved as much by being willing to sell their knightmares to him. No self-respecting resistance group would ever part with their knightmares unless forced to by the enemy. Only Kyoto did it because they were the main supplier of them to begin with.

Hmm maybe they were now willing to sell the other fifty knightmares they had held back. If he could get them here fast enough and man them he may just turn this thing around. The battle was a stalemate of sorts that wasn't going in his favor but another fifty glasgows would clinch the victory for the JLF. The Black Knights must have realized that and put measly concerns about money aside.

"Patch them through."

The screen flickered for a moment before a figure with a mask on in black clothes lined with gold showed on the screen.

"Hello JLF my name is Zero the leader of the Black Knights"

"What's with the ridiculous getup Zero" asked general Katase. He frowned at the impractical suit that looked like someone took artistic license with a general's uniform. He could understand hiding his face but he didn't see the point after he had already seen it. Well maybe he was worried about his subordinates.

Zero complete ignored his question "How do you like my performance so far general Katase?"

"What are you talking about?"

"Oh you didn't notice me clearing a path of escape for you to the north east. Or the defeat of the most eastern company, clearing the east side of the mountain" Zero said in a very condescending voice.

General Katase blinked in surprise at how the face of the battlefield had changed this much right under his nose without his knowledge.

But if this upstart wanted to score some brownie points with him by coming to his rescue then he was all for it. He would figure out how to take credit and most of all marginalize their importance to the Six houses of Kyoto later.

"I see then I order you to attack Cornelia in her flank. With your help we may still turn this thing around."

"I'm afraid I can't do that general"

"What, aren't you going to help the best chance Japan has for regaining her freedom" asked general Katase in such a way to force him to agree to help. Most resistance groups he used as proxy armies were convinced to do suicidal operations by just that line so he had confidence it would work again.

"I can't, because Cornelia will withdraw any second now, to get aerial reconnaissance after losing her troops to a mysterious ambush." predicted Zero confidently

"There's no way she would retreat now, she has us on the ropes if she retreats now she loses her advantage."

But as he spoke he noticed Cornelia stopping her pursuit of his forces and disengaging. He gritted his teeth as they made their way back to their G1 mobile base.

Zero spoke again but he didn't seem to address him personally. "Cornelia doesn't fear you because she can defeat you whenever she wants. She does however fear me, thanks to her troops mysteriously disappearing all at once. She will scout the area by air and attack again in a hour with reinforcements."

General Katase narrowed his eyes at how he and the JLF were treated like chopped liver by Zero but swallowed his pride for the moment. "Very well then we should take the opportunity to retreat while we have the chance."

He expected some kind of protest from Zero and a rash proposal to attack them while they were regrouping but to his surprise Zero agreed "I agree, but you should retreat discreetly and plant demolition charges to bring the whole base down on the britannians' heads once they come back to claim it."

General Katase thought about it and agreed, it was only a matter of time before they found it and they couldn't defend against another assault, so a booby-trap was the best option.

There was however a problem."We have some explosives and detonators but not enough to bring down the whole base." the base was a hardened bunker built to withstand enemy artillery fire for months. All of his ammunitions and explosives combined would perhaps bring it down but he wasn't willing to leave himself defenseless after this.

"Don't you have sakuradite stored In large quantities, why don't you use that as a accelerant."

"We can't just waste hundreds of gallons of liquid sakuradite like that. That stuff is worth its weight in gold." protested general Katase immediately and then explained "We could trade it with the Chinese for supplies and support."

Zero nodded in understanding "Yes you could but only if you made it out of here alive."

Wait was he just going to hang him out to dry, if he didn't do it? "Are you threatening me Zero!"

"Off course not!" denied Zero "But those barrels of sakuradite will slow you down and I won't be covering your rear. I am only here to deal a blow to the britannians."

So it was a threat he just wasn't going to admit it. "Fine!" snarled general Katase "I'll rig the base to blow but you better cover our escape in exchange you hear me!"

He doubted the explosion would catch every Britannian in its blast so he needed to save his men from a renewed assault. And if he could use this pompous bastard as the sacrificial bait then that was just the icing on the cake.

"No problem general I promise I'll make sure the britannians can't follow you."

General Katase nodded his head at the agreement and turned his attention back to the tactical screen to plan his escape and barking out orders to set up demolition charges laced with sakuradite at all the load bearing columns.

* * *

**G1 mobile base thirty minutes later**

Cornelia was seated back on her throne like seat overlooking her tactical screens while her knightmare got repaired for cosmetic damages and re-supplied with ammo and a energy filler.

"Well what are the flyboys reporting?" Cornelia asked Darlton with a raised brow.

"They have done a thorough scouting of the area but they can't find any large numbers of reinforcements."

Cornelia frowned "They have found a small number then?"

"Yes, they spotted a unknown group of thirty knightmares who are now on top of the mountain."

"Maybe there was a larger force but they suffered heavy losses " wondered Cornelia aloud

"In such a short amount of time? Your highness with all due respect, a battle with Alex's group even with a larger group should have taken longer than just a few minutes."

"With conventional fighting yes, but I read spy reports that the EU is considering implanting bombs in their knightmares for suicide tactics. The theorized gains were that one average pilot could take out five of ours at once, by diving in the middle and exploding"

The room gasped at the inhumane and blatantly wasteful tactic "They would seriously throw away their men like that?" asked one of the officers.

Cornelia sighed, the tactic did seem brutal in modern warfare where pilots were urged to eject at the first sign of trouble but it was just a few decades ago when men were sent to get slaughtered by the hundreds in foolhardy attempts to gain a hundred yards. The rules of engagement had seemingly become more civil and like the romanticized knights of old.

But when faced with a superior enemy, people got increasingly more desperate and willing to try any suicidal tactic for a slim hope to defend their home. As a result of this, her brother Schneizel constantly tried to give people hope, to prevent do or die last stands.

But the EU shouldn't be that desperate by a long shot. They had been drawn into the African war and were losing but it wasn't bad enough to employ suicide tactics. The only reason it had been accepted was because it was elevens who were sent on suicide missions.

"I wonder if the EU doctrine somehow spread to these terrorists?"

General Darlton shook his head " That seems highly unlikely princess Cornelia, though it is true that some terrorist are more than willing to sacrifice their lives for what they believe in. Here in Japan they haven't resorted to that measure yet."

"You forget that honorable suicide to regain honor is a part of their culture, largely forgotten I know. But if we're dealing with radicals trying to bring back Japan, they might just embrace some of the most famous parts of their culture. "countered Cornelia.

Guilford spoke up "I think princess Cornelia is right, these terrorists know they can't win against us but they try nonetheless. Isn't that by its definition suicide with assistance? They force us to kill them, so they can die a honorable death in their delusional world."

Cornelia nodded "If that is what they want, I'm more than happy to oblige them but not at the expense of my men."

After thinking it over she came up with a adequate plan "Radio naval command and have them move a carrier into strike range." She commanded.

General Darlton looked at his tactical screen to double check some figures"The hydra is already within striking range and can have birds up in the air and over head inside a half-hour."

Princess Cornelia nodded "Good have them prepare a strike team of fighter bombers and send them the coordinates of the top of the mountain. If they are going to bomb us then we will return in kind."

But most importantly it wouldn't expose her troops to close quarter suicide tactics. She wasn't prepared to trade three state of the art Sutherlands against a beat up old Glasgow, without even taking the pilots into consideration.

"After we bomb them we'll move in and take the base. Before they pop their heads back up." She added.

Her men acknowledged her orders and got to work coordinating the air strike and providing logistical support for her reinforcements. All told she should have over a hundred new glasgows and a squadron of bombers in place within a hour to blow this mountain to kingdom come.

* * *

**Top of the Narita mountain**

Kallen opened the cooler and grabbed two cold cokes and a sandwich and walked back to the observation post. Or whatever Zero wanted to call a few fold up chairs and a rickety table.

She passed by a few other groups who were grabbing a quick bite to eat as well. Some had even brought traditional Japanese meals in bentos. Which was good for morale because of the subtle hint of why they were doing it all.

She looked the other way whenever they looked her way, to give herself some plausible deniability about why her friends were ignoring her. While before, they would have called out to her to join them. Instead she focused on Zero who was sitting near the edge of the plateau overlooking the Britannian formations.

She walked up to him from behind and could see him working on his laptop. She couldn't make out exactly what he was doing, but he did cycle through a few camera images that showed the JLF retreating and planting charges.

She didn't know how he managed to obtain such a high level mole inside the JLF when he had only been here in Japan, for supposedly eight months, but she didn't ask either.

She sat down next to him and handed him a coke, and watched his body language in amusement as he realized he couldn't drink it while wearing that ridiculous mask.

"Very funny Kallen, " grumbled Zero for a second before he returned his attention to his laptop.

Kallen didn't mind him not paying attention to her, but she needed some answers now that there was a lull in the fighting. "Why did you place me in charge of our only knightmare platoon. Shouldn't you or Q2 have taken command?"

For a minute Zero looked like he wasn't going to answer, by his slightly swiveling helmet she guessed he was reading something "I did it, to solidify your influence inside the group. Several members have been badmouthing you and undermining your authority in general. By publicly placing my support behind you, I'm letting them know that you're off limits."

Though she was touched by the show of support she didn't want someone to protect her, she could defend herself just fine "I don't need you to fight my battles for me. It was my mistake I'll deal with it." She had leaned over while making her point but now she leaned back and softened her tone "If you get caught up in it or show too much favoritism then this group will fall apart."

"I'm not." Zero immediately protested "People have this foolish notion that favoritism is giving too many promotions to one person who you like. But it isn't, it's giving promotions to someone inept. You deserve it more than your entire platoon put together." Zero reassured her

Kallen suppressed a small smile at the appreciation and support but retorted "I almost died today because I neglected to follow orders. I can't be rewarded for that." She referred to her delay before retreating to give her men more time to escape.

Zero nodded "I read your after action report and I know you made a mistake, but the fact remains that you have more piloting skills in your pinky finger than they do in their whole bodies."

She was about to object that, that wasn't what she meant but he spoke over her "Furthermore you shut down their idiotic proposal to take them head on, which would have resulted in a massacre for us and didn't' rain on their parade when they succeeded in the first part of the operation." Zero grabbed his coke and raised it in a toast to her

"You managed morale well and kept your men in line and even performed some heroic action that will inspire their loyalty from here on out."

She was swelling with pride up until the last part. When she heard that, she immediately deflated. "I'm not deaf, I've heard the rumors. Some would have preferred I died today. I'll never earn their trust now, not after Tamaki." She didn't say anymore, nor did she need to.

Zero sighed "I know and that's a problem. I've already considered just rebooting the entire organization and starting fresh in another part of Japan but we've already passed that stage. If I do it now, then the same people will join and cause trouble, and there will be massive confusion, but most importantly the Black Knights will look like amateurs."

Kallen was surprised she was valued enough to nearly sacrifice the entire organization for. She knew he said it before to cheer her up but she didn't think he actually meant it back then. "You'd dissolve the Black Knights just to give me a easier time?" She asked perplexed

"Yes" He answered immediately and unequivocally. "You are irreplaceable to me Kallen. I can inspire others to take action and train them up from idiots with toys, to a true army but I can never find another you."

Kallen felt something stir within her and she quickly looked away to survey the battlefield or something.

She tried changing the subject "So what's next, I see you're trying to lure viceroy Cornelia inside the JLF base, but do you really think she'll send her entire force inside."

Zero shook his head or helmet. "No thirty to fifty percent at most, Cornelia knows that tightly clustered troops are just a target rich environment. She'll send in one of her subordinate's platoon in so he can get the credit."

That puzzled kallen "Why would she give up the credit. Wouldn't she want to convert that win to more political clout back home?"

Zero shook his head "She isn't interested in the royal court, because she doesn't want the throne. She is however investing it in the military. She knows most military officers want to achieve glory and they'll follow whomever can give that to them. By freely giving the credit to whomever deserves it, she sends a clear message to all new recruits and skilled veteran soldiers."

"So by giving some lip service here and there, she gets free pick of the litter, allowing her to build an elite army and win more victories overall, than if she hogged the glory." Realized Kallen

"Exactly." confirmed Zero "Cornelia specializes in the military while other royals diversify their support. As a result she commands more loyalty within the armed forces than anyone else, but faces resistance from other high ranking nobles. The public loves her enough but nowhere near as much as Schneizel."

"So if Schneizel dies, she becomes the next Empress" asked Kallen curiously

"Yes she will but she is in an alliance with Schneizel so she won't kill him herself. Together they have ruled Britannia for years as a single block of power that the other nobles can't overcome. If we want to cause some chaos in their decision making then we need to take her out here."

Kallen nodded along but then frowned "Wait they ruled Britannia? Isn't the Emperor still on the throne."

Zero nodded as he still stared at his coke which he couldn't drink without taking off the helmet. "The Emperor has taking a backseat to ruling and only gives strategic orders like the invasion of Africa or Japan. The actual implementation and day to day ruling he leaves up to his children."

"But won't that make him obsolete and tempt his children into replacing him?"

"It will, but that won't happen for a while yet, you see the royals are still binding men to their cause and sabotaging each other. They know once the struggle to become Emperor becomes public. They will have no more time to gain resources. It will all be over within months. So they're constantly trying to gain some small advantage, too scared to take the plunge and lose."

"So by keeping them divided, he doesn't need to be strong. He just needs to keep tensions high and a war going, so they can't risk civil war at the same time."

She got the feeling Zero was smiling at her insight even if she couldn't see it "Indeed, killing the Emperor won't stop his policies of hate because his children have already inherited them, but it will tear the empire apart if he doesn't appoint an heir."

"And he won't appoint one, because then they will kill him. He would rather destroy his life's work than die."

"Amusing isn't it, how the strongest super power is remarkably fragile, if you remove key pieces of the board."

Kallen could only nod meekly at that.

* * *

**Admiral James Hardesty**

"Admiral we're in position and ready to launch." announced his colonel.

He eyeballed the runway, looking for any obvious flaws though he knew he couldn't see it from the control tower. Everyone looked ready and highly motivated,

Admiral Hardesty nodded "Launch them." He ordered

The first fighter plane was catapulted off the runway by a iron cable, because it was impossible to gain enough speed without it.

While his men watched the fighter plane take off he followed the whiplash of the cable that would cut a man in half if he was hit by it. Luckily proper protocol was followed and everyone was clear, but this was just the first launch.

He was going to launch all of his birds to support princess Cornelia, so he was still far from done. He had armed his fighters with a balance between air to air and air to ground missiles in case princess Cornelia's enemy was actually airborne.

He doubted it because all aircraft should be picked up by their radars and experimental stealth craft was far above their budget. Heck it was even above his budget ever since the knightmare frame had been introduced.

But still he needed to cover his bases in case there were stealth fighters and it came back to bite him. He didn't expect to need more air to ground missiles anyway, he was sending seventy planes against thirty knightmares.

Knightmares may make short work of helicopters but they were defenseless against fast moving aircraft. Their bullets simply couldn't catch up to them.

But sadly nobody seemed to realize that simple fact anymore now that they were caught up in their knightmare fad.

Even Cornelia who still used aircraft, considered them to be too inaccurate for combat use except for wastelands.

* * *

Lelouch glared once more futilely at the coke sitting well within reach that was by now probably lukewarm. Kallen's faint smirk was still as annoying as the first time but he resigned himself.

He couldn't wear his usual synthetic mask because it was uncomfortable and got in the way. It also felt slightly creepy to have it on while he talked. So instead he wore a military helmet which was only mildly better than a motorcycle helmet or god forbid a balaclava.

If he ever had to choose between 'the mask synonymous with bank robbers' and revealing his identity he would proudly show his face without hesitation. The PR disaster would be enormous and would seriously undermine his efforts of the last year.

"Why don't you just drink it inside your knightmare" proposed kallen

Lelouch had considered it but he wasn't sure his loyal Black Knights hadn't bugged his cockpit with a hidden camera. He knew it was paranoid but he couldn't shake it and his knowledge on how to spot them was primitive at best. He usually relied on Jeremiah or Sayoko to find them for him.

He had neglected to ask Sayoko before the battle, so now he was stuck with some small inconvenience. And he couldn't ask her now seeing she was off on another assignment.

He was about to make a smart ass remark back, when he heard his cell phone ring. Only a few people had this number who weren't already here and he only expected to hear from one which meant.

"Kallen tell Ohgi to release the balloons inside the two trucks I had him drive here."

Kallen's mouth dropped open in shock "You're telling me, we drove two trucks full of balloons to a fricking war zone!"

Lelouch sighed "I'll explain in a minute, for now just do it!" He didn't allow her to protest further by just flipping open his phone and concentrating on what his caller was saying.

Kallen however didn't even try, since she had already gotten it out of her system. She immediately stood up and briskly walked over to Oghi

He could see her hold a quick conversation with him before they moved to the trucks. After he saw that, he stopped paying attention and looked towards the skies instead, trying to find flecks in it.

"Are you sure about that Viletta." He asked feeling somewhat pressured, ten minutes wasn't much to work with but was plenty if he got a move on.

He got an apology and a confirmation that yes really, there were going to be seventy planes dropping bombs on his head in ten minutes or less.

He accepted her apology and gave her a quick warning to avoid going into the JLF base if she could do it without coming off as suspicious.

It wasn't because of any great concern he had for her health, it was just practical to protect his mole inside the military. If she got outed as a spy, she might as well die for all the difference it made to him.

He turned around and found a few Black Knights chuckling at some sort of gallows humor while others were outraged. By some scraps he picked up, they had expected the trucks to be full of high tech weaponry or something. He supposed another truck full of thermal lances would have improved morale better.

Sugiyama yelled "What is the meaning of this Zero!" pointing at the balloons that were already high up in the sky and were slowly floating off to the west."You just gave away our position to Cornelia and wasted our time by actually bringing party props to a battle!" He paused to let it sink in for a second "Are you trying to kill us!"

Immediately some murmurs about how the Black Knights were just a long term scheme orchestrated by the britannians to lure in the resistance popped up.

Lelouch sighed and made a mental note to geass Sugiyama into total obedience and have him start a group of like minded individuals who disagreed with Zero. he would give him orders to recruit anyone who spouted dissension and then slow walk them, until Lelouch found a opportunity to have them killed in the line of duty.

He knew every group had its factions and good management of them allowed for smooth operations. But he simply didn't have the time or inclination to listen to their every petulant little demand when he was much more focused on the big picture. So a quick assassination of the troublemakers and a secret group which had more bark than bite would suffice for now.

"Did you get a good look at the balloons?" He asked casually which only enraged the crowd more.

Exclamations came from the crowd, asking him if he was serious and a few mumbled insults and questions about his sanity.

"I'll take that as a no" Lelouch said confidently, entirely unfazed by his whole organization second guessing him. "Then you must have missed the small aluminum strips tied to the balloons."

"What does that have to do with fighting a battle against Britannia, in case you haven't noticed they're mobilizing for another attack right now!" screamed Sugiyama.

The others hadn't, too distracted by their little party. But now they looked worried and close to panic. When they looked down the mountain and saw another hundred glasgows join the sixty remaining Sutherlands.

"Everything Sugiyama, and you'll find out why soon enough but for now I recommend you get into your knightmare. And that goes for all of you, but do not start your engine! If anyone does, I will personally guarantee you will die today."

The crowd took that to mean he was going to kill them and hurled more abuse at him, but they refrained from attacking him. So he was fine with it.

He got into his Sutherland but didn't close the cockpit all the way. He then grabbed a megaphone so he could talk from the crack in his cockpit.

"Now first off the military consists of land, naval and air of which we have only seen naval and land for the last couple of years because air was deemed too expensive and inaccurate to be further developed. Which wasn't wrong because it took thousands of bombs to hit one target."

He ignored the protests against his impromptu history lesson and continued "However the branch wasn't completely abolished, it just fell into disuse until it could solve its accuracy problems. Which they did about six months ago and thanks to it have started overwhelming the Africans in the desert."

That shut them up, everyone knew the tide had turned in North Africa but no one was sure exactly why. Both armies kept their mouths shut, but Lelouch knew why: aircraft reigned supreme in the desert where there was no cover to hide from the death in the skies.

"The britannians have finally developed a heat seeking missile and no longer have to rely on thousands of bombs and hope they get a lucky hit. And I just got confirmation that Cornelia called in an air strike and sent seventy planes armed with two missiles each, to blow us to smithereens."

He listened to their rising panic, at first it was dead quiet as they processed the information then a few loudmouths spoke up with hasty conclusions that opened the floodgates for the rest. Pretty soon every Black Knight was urging everyone else to start their engines and leave as fast as possible before they died.

"If you start your engine it will give off a heat signature meaning you will be targeted and die you idiots!" yelled Kallen at her former friends

Friends who didn't appreciate the wake up call and hurled some more abuse back at her, more out of reflex than anything else.

"Q1 is right, right now your knightmares have cooled down and don't show up on their radar but once you move, you will become a glowing red dot on their screen."

"Then how the hell are we supposed to defend ourselves against the knightmares coming up the mountain!" yelled another, probably Yoshida if he remembered right.

"Those balloons had aluminium strips attached to them, which give off false readings to the Britannia aircraft's radar system. Their aircraft and their missiles won't be able to find us" spoke Lelouch confidently as if his subordinates hadn't just poked a fatal error in his reasoning.

"That's only if we don't move and we'll soon be under attack by Cornelia's knightmares!" screamed another black knight

He could practically feel all eyes on him, demanding an answer.

Lelouch didn't disappoint "Did anyone wonder why I brought excavators to this party?"

Silence greeted that statement signifying a hard 'No' and some embarrassment.

He sighed "Ohgi plan a seminar on the importance of soldiers thinking for themselves and questioning things within reason."

Lelouch explained with exasperation and condescension "Q2 brought those here and dug several holes into the mountain this morning, and inserted several tons of thermite into the underground water through a hose into a balloon."

This explanation was greeted by more silence.

"Ohgi plan a refresher course on basic chemistry and specifically on explosions. Maybe then they'll realize that an explosion is nothing more than expanding gas and some fire."

The penny still didn't drop so he sighed once more "And tell them that thermite burns so hot, it'll instantly turn water into steam, and creates so much pressure inside the mountain that it'll create a steam explosion."

"We're blowing up the mountain?" asked a Black Knight in confusion and then added "But we're on it."

Lelouch felt like bashing his head against his computer interface. Apparently two invasions and a country in ruin really messed up basic education.


	28. Arrogance comes before the Fall

**Chapter Twenty Eight Arrogance comes before the fall. **

**Lord G.P Guilford**

Guilford alternated looking at his sensors and his life feed from his camera's. Too many good pilots got killed because they were too busy looking at the numerous instruments.

Information overload was a real concern so he only did it sparingly and relied on his teammates to catch anything he might miss.

"What's your position Sparrow Two" He heard over the radio, and princess Cornelia responded with their latest as they slowly closed the net.

Some of the reinforcements had been sent around, mostly to cut off the retreat from the JLF who might be sneaking out the back to the Northeast. But there was still a concern about possible ambushes in those woods despite the most likely force responsible for it being on top of the mountain. His objections to his princess placing herself within leaping distance of a suicide bomber had been glared into silence. Awkward silence.

The princess's plan was sound and no harm should come to her but he didn't forget that the JLF had emerged from tunnels out of the mountain. Who knew how many more tunnels there were? But his princess refused to be sequestered away in a cordoned off area that was deemed safe enough for someone of her stature. She'd despised that and fought against even the implication of frailty. She did it when she was young and she did it now, not even fanatics would deter her. So understandably he was feeling a little more paranoid than usual.

"Alright men take cover and let the flyboys do their thing" commanded princess Cornelia who took refuge in a depression herself.

Guilford followed her and made sure his knightmare covered hers against any possible shrapnel from the missiles. He had read the reports of course and knew the missiles were a lot more accurate nowadays. But that didn't mean he was going to take any chances.

Guidlford heard princess Cornelia's quiet musing "I wonder why there are balloons...?" She trailed off.

But it got him thinking as well. Balloons of all colors were floating in the breeze and his mind tried to dredge up novelty stories about crackpot inventions made during war. One of them had been attaching bombs to bats so they'd explode when they slept in the barns and attics of the enemy. Had one of them been balloons carrying bombs? Or had the elevens lifted a net of steel wires into the air to trap and tangle the planes in it. Nah too heavy. He kept straining his mind but more as an idle curiosity in case the goal was mere distraction.

The answer came when the aircraft came roaring through the sky but they didn't unleash their deadly payload.

Instead a transmission came through "Sparrow Two this is Hawk One, we can't find our target on our radar, something is jamming it. Do we proceed blind?"

Princess Cornelia immediately ordered them to fly around for another run and fire their missiles anyway. "The infrared won't be bothered by the radar jamming, if those bastards are up there then the missiles won't have any trouble locking on."

The pilots copied and this time did unleash their deadly payload of one hundred forty missiles to saturate the field.

Guilford saw their launch on his tactical display and then tracked them with his naked eye through the sky. Well, he followed their smoke trails.

There weren't any neat smoke trails though, they zigged and zagged a bit as if looking around for something. His hunch was confirmed by the next transmission.

"Sparrow Two this is Hawk One, bogeys on ground are cold, I repeat cold. The missiles can't get a lock." shortly after that statement the missiles landed randomly on the side of the mountain. Guilford could see one or two hitting a actual knightmare by chance but that was it.

He could practically hear princess Cornelia gritting her teeth in annoyance, a bad habit he hadn't gotten her to quit yet.

"Roger that Hawk One, RTB and reload for another run after we warm these bastards up for you" ordered princess Cornelia

"Copy that Sparrow Two"

Guilford launched his slash harken to climb the steep cliff in front of him at his princess's command eager to get ahead of her and possibly clear the way. Or at least embrace the first suicide bomber while his comrades dragged the princess out of range. He shook his head and tried to get his mind off of that grim fate. He'd gladly die for his princess so that she might live but best not to think of it untill the time comes. As he drove nearly vertically up the mountain he instead tried to think on how useful knightmares were. Normally he would have been forced to take routes through valleys that would lead him straight into kill zones. One heated battle for a mountain top only to have to come down again to conquer the next.

He was still vulnerable during his ascent because he couldn't dodge much but it was still better than before.

Shudder, crack, crack...

Guilford's eyes widened as suddenly the earth itself seemed to move. He immediately thought about the pipes of Africa, but discarded that thought when he realized he was on solid bedrock not loose sand.

As soon as he realized it was an earthquake it stopped.

He double checked his tactical display but nothing noteworthy had happened, just some major tremors. He had heard that Japan was prone to earthquakes but that was the first one he had experienced in his life, so he forgave his slow reaction.

He calmly ignored the second set of tremors. He just kept moving forward while guarding princess Cornelia's left flank. She had caught up to him during his confusion to his annoyance.

"What the!" whispered his princess.

Guilford was momentarily confused what his princess was referring to but didn't want to disturb her thought process.

However his sense of propriety was severely strained when he saw a river of rocks suddenly cascading down the mountain.

He only refrained from throwing himself in front of princess Cornelia and somehow blocking the brunt of it, by the realization that it wasn't headed directly for them.

Instead it seemed to target the reinforcements to the west. The rocks and mud swept away the center of their formation and cut them off from the rest.

He heard his princess trying to hail the general in charge of the group that just got buried. When she got no response she immediately called Euphie to organize a rescue effort.

Guilford however ignored the fate of those loyal men and focused solely on spotting the ambush that he feared was coming.

He hated being right about these things but he was glad nonetheless about his pessimistic thoughts when he managed to bodily block a RPG by quickly unhooking his slash harken and revving his landspinners against the steep slope to propel him to princess Cornelia's right. If the RPG hadn't been coming from below then he'd have been powerless, but now he managed just enough traction to get infront of it. His frame shook on impact and he momentarily feared his frame would explode and his service would end. Honorable though it might be, he still wanted more. The briefest flicker of doubt passed through him before the moment passed and he knew he was going to live.

"Guilford!" screamed princess Cornelia in concern even as she already laid down suppresive fire on pure instinct.

"Don't worry about me my lady, I'm fine." He reassured as he refired his slash harken to prevent himself from crashing down the slope.

Though the reality was different, his interface was lighting up with a dozen system failure alerts though most were tertiary in nature.

He could still fight and that was all that mattered, even if it was with a reduction of 35% efficiency.

Cornelia grunted at him, her own personal way of saying she didn't believe him but was willing to let the matter rest for now.

She rallied her troops and scanned her surroundings for the ambushing forces. While Guilford took stock of the casualties that the surprise RPG barrage had inflicted. It was surprisingly few considering they were sitting ducks. Many were heavily damaged but had avoided worse by shifting their vital spots away from the rockets. No one's sakuradite's supply, cockpit or landspinners had been hit that badly. They creaked with every step and metal groaned in protest at the simplest movements but they could still fight and that was all that mattered. They could still protect.

A soldier soon reported in "Princess I found a iron cable attached to a tree, by the looks of it they rappelled down the mountain after firing off their RPGs."

Princess Cornelia immediately ordered "Cut the line!"

Guilford amplified his external microphones and listened closely for any screams of someone falling to their deaths.

But nothing…

"They got away huh." grunted princess Cornelia before she switched back to Euphie to organize her reserve force into hunting them down

Guilford started hearing gunfire and looked up and saw the source.

"Your highness the knightmares from on top of the mountain are coming down and are laying down suppressing fire." He reported calmly as he formed up around princess Cornelia

Princess Cornelia raised her lance and proudly provoked the terrorists. "Finally coming out to face me like a true warrior huh, very well I accept this challenge."

Before Guilford could speak up about her reckless actions she switched to a private channel and said "Guilford take thirty of our remaining men and go east and then swing back to hit our enemy in their flank or rear when they answer my call.

Guilford stifled his complaints about princess Cornelia using herself as bait and complied with the order. He took some solace in the fact that she was falling back to more level ground though, more defensible ground.

* * *

**Lelouch pov**

Lelouch gritted his teeth as he watched another of his Black Knights eject after getting hit from his flank. He had inflicted some heavy losses on Cornelia by dividing her forces, hitting them with RPGs and then his own forces.

He had counted on sending her reeling and keeping her there long enough to wail on her before she got her act together. But sadly she wasn't fazed by it and just adjusted accordingly.

So far the only things she didn't have a good answer for were the things he had custom designed. But conventional warfare was child's play to her, which was evidenced by her somehow wrestling the high ground from him.

"Zero what do we do?" asked Kallen in-between apologies.

He didn't quite get why she liked to apologize to those she killed.

"We hold our ground for five more minutes " He ordered, trying to sound calm and collected like he had a plan.

Well he did have a plan, just a plan that counted on Cornelia doing something first.

"We can't hold out for that long. Can't we ask for assistance from the JLF?" She replied

Lelouch wanted to say yes but he hadn't managed to convince general Katase to follow his orders, other than pressing a button when he gave the signal.

He considered radioing Inoue to send another salvo of RPG's into Cornelia's rear but if he did that now with their escape route destroyed. He would be sending them to their deaths, and worse than that everyone in the Black Knights would realize it as well.

With the reinforcements it had been 160 vs. 30 but after his landslide, forty were destroyed and another seventy cut off. This meant he only had to deal with fifty who were damaged by glancing RPG hits. It was still fifty elite pilots against twenty eight mediocre ones though. Tactics could off set a numerical advantage and formations could overcome differences in individual strength. But Cornelia was no slouch, so the difference wasn't nearly as big as it had been against Clovis. Only surprise and momentum, courtesy of his traps and ambushes kept him going. But he could only use those once.

Ohgi's panicked voice came over the radio "Zero! We've got another wave of aircraft approaching, If they hit us we're done for!. We need to retreat now before they get in range."

Lelouch wasn't worried though, instead he was grinning from ear to ear. "Men disengage and fall back to point T6!" Which was to the east of his current position and would hopefully move Guilford from his back to his front again. Though the collapse of his formation would probably lead to more losses than simply holding his ground while getting pounded from behind. Instead all of them would be to his back and running him down.

His Black Knights hastily complied with his orders, though they still spared some time to grumble. They apparently thought he should have given the order sooner or not have pressed his luck attacking princess Cornelia to begin with.

Lelouch ignored them and instead grabbed the thermal lance that was strapped to his cockpit. It was the last thermal lance inside of Japan but this one lance was going to be more effective than all its predecessors combined.

He drove backwards so he could time it right and keep track of the situation. His knights were in complete chaos and he barely refrained from ordering them to divide into teams and provide covering fire in turns every hundred meters or so.

Didn't they realize they were leaving their backs wide open like this? Well no matter it only sold his next scheme.

The Britannian soon gave chase in a tightly clustered group led by Guildford while Cornelia hung back due to her damaged frame.

He smirked, all conditions were cleared.

He stopped and lifted the lance above his head but instead of aiming it at someone he looked to the sky. The aircraft were close now and thanks to the gap in-between their forces they felt comfortable enough to launch their heat seeking missiles again. He could see the beginnings of the latest smoke trails in the distance.

He smirked at their latest folly, it hadn't worked the first time against him and they expected it to work the second time, the fools.

He threw his spear up into the air in a high arc.

One of his Black Knights saw it and just groaned "Why did you overshoot your target like that?"

Lelouch just smirked some more, though he didn't deny that it would land well behind Guilford's group and short of Cornelia but he wasn't aiming for them "Just watch."

The spear exploded like the others and sprayed hot molten metal over a wide surface but it was so wide that it hardly did enough damage to destroy the knightmares. Kallen's group had thrown them in a much tighter arc that brought the spears so low, they almost scraped the brows of the knightmares' heads.

Lord Guildford wiped some molten slag of his Sutherland's face and kept right on going. His men too, followed him completely undaunted by the weird projectile. Slowly herding them while keeping their distance, waiting like wolves to deal the finishing blow when they were too weak to fight back.

The Black Knights hit a steep cliff that they could only climb with slash harkens but to do so would leave them sitting ducks for Guilford to shoot down.

"What do we do?" asked Ohgi urgently

Lelouch crossed his arms and leaned back to watch the show "Nothing."

He ignored the astonished gasp and yells of outrage and just tracked the incoming missiles.

The rockets were heading right for them, that is until they suddenly took a nosedive right into Guilford's group. His thermal spear may not have sprayed them with enough molten metal to hit something important.

But it did light them up like a Christmas tree on the missiles' infrared vision.

Forty knightmares were wiped out in seconds and only a few managed to eject in time. He idly noted that one of them had been Guilford, which was a shame. He really would have preferred removing Guilford permanently, that man was too skilled to let live. Lucky too. The cockpit should have drawn a missile of its own as it blasted away.

"Q1 grab Cornelia and then we'll make our escape. We've achieved all our mission objectives."

* * *

Kallen surged forward filled with renewed confidence in her leader. Even she had doubted him for a moment back there with the others but now she knew.

No matter what happened Zero was always right, and she would follow him to the ends of the earth.

Just nine months ago she was a small time terrorist who occasionally threw a rock to distract some pursuing or harassing police officers. Nothing to write home about and would never liberate Japan but now she was fighting a pitched battle with the elite of Britannia rather than some bigoted beat cop.

She was outmanned seven to one but through Zero's orders they were winning decisively. They only had ten knightmares left but Cornelia only had two guards and she could easily deal with them.

She zigged and zagged while she eyeballed her opponent. Princess Cornelia seemed to have sustained some minor damages but still seemed to be functioning.

No wait, that left land spinner of hers wasn't moving. Kallen smiled as she saw Cornelia actually lift her left leg to pivot around as she circled her.

That meant that the others couldn't move much either to protect her. She rained down a hail of bullets aimed directly at Cornelia's legs. If it was just the head or chest she could have still swerved out of the way but not the legs.

She was wrong though, Cornelia somehow managed to jump out of the way though she landed awkwardly.

Kallen shrugged, it didn't matter. She fired another clip and saw she was running on empty. So she closed the distance, while her team mates kept up the pressure.

One of the guards spotted her coming and hastily brought his lance to bear and counter charged her. But he didn't have enough room to build up enough speed, without it the lance wasn't nearly as fearsome.

She ducked underneath it and trusted her stun tonfa into his chest. His sluggish movements suggested he wasn't used to someone dodging the first blow or he just didn't have a good answer for when somebody got within his guard.

It didn't matter "I'm sorry" said Kallen just before she twirled around him and used the centrifugal force to ram her stun tonfa into his cockpit directly before he could eject.

The Sutherland soon exploded and blocked her vision, but she knew Cornelia's last known position. She doubted she had gotten far with that bum leg.

She emerged from the flames and saw Cornelia dueling Ohgi and even with her handicap she was beating him. Ohgi barely ejected in time before his frame went up in flames as well.

Kallen did a quick scan for the other guard but didn't find him so she radioed Ohgi who didn't have anything better to do right now anyway.

"Ohgi what happened to the other guard" She asked while circling around Cornelia trying to find a opening.

"We overwhelmed him. He took out Yoshida with that spear of his but the others nailed him from behind before he could retract his lance" replied Ohgi quickly

Kallen thanked him and refocused her attention on Cornelia now that she knew she wasn't about to be attacked from behind.

"That little duck and uppercut trick won't work on me eleven." proclaimed princess Cornelia as she kept swiveling around to meet Kallen's eventual charge.

Kallen could have just let the guys open up on her and let them shoot her to bits but Zero wanted her alive.

"This is why I hate Britannians, always so frigging arrogant even when they have clearly lost. Let me give you a wake up call" She said as she charged once more.

Princess Cornelia stood her ground and held her spear at the ready to impale her on her own strength as soon as she came within range. But Kallen wasn't going to fall for it, she ducked like before but then she did a half twirl that put her back in front of princess Cornelia.

It basically opened up her back to her, begging her to stick that lance into her cockpit. But she wasn't within princess Cornelia's strike range just yet. She wanted princess Cornelia to overextend and then nail her.

"Pathetic" called out Cornelia who was too seasoned to fall for her trick. So she just revved the gas and reversed directions. She would have preferred doing a full twirl and using her stun tonfa to parry the blow and get within her guard.

But she wasn't done yet, she lined up her approach to make her next move but suddenly Cornelia's lance got blasted out of her hand.

"I'm sorry to break this party up, but I have a deadline to keep" announced Zero

"You backstabbing little..." grumbled Cornelia "Have you no honor!"

Zero ignored her however and just grabbed hold of her cockpit himself.

"Q1 cut off the connection to the frame and let's go before those knightmares get here."

Kallen looked at her tactical display and saw that the seventy knightmares they had cut off from princess Cornelia had almost traversed the rockslide and were about to reach them.

She wasn't sure how much time they had left, but it wasn't much. She mangled Cornelia's frame with only enough care to prevent a accidental explosion.

No sense in killing their secondary objective.

"Okay everyone, P2 to P19 have already been recovered by B1 and B2 managed to rappel to safety as well. Only R1 is still on the field in case we needed them but I'm giving them the go ahead to retreat as well."

Kallen did a quick translation in her head, the P numbers were the knightmares and B were the special ops groups. B1 was in charge of rescuing ejected pilots and B2 was Inoue's RPG group, which left only Sugiyama's group as R1.

"We'll be using route 3F ourselves, the JLF will be waiting at the end to help us cover our escape."

Kallen nodded at her orders and followed Zero into the abandoned and booby trapped JLF base.

* * *

**Euphie pov**

Euphie felt a errant drop of sweat slowly make its way to her brow from her hairline. She absentmidedly wiped it away as she pondered her options.

"Sub-viceroy we need to rescue the viceroy at all costs. We need to move the G1 up so we can provide harassing artillery fire."

Euphie shook her head "No we can't, the viceroy gave me strict orders not to move the G1 no matter what happened."

"But if we don't then the viceroy herself may be lost" warned another general or something, she forgot his rank five seconds after he said it.

"I know but even then, it won't matter. There are only ten knightmares left, the chances of hitting them with artillery is slim to none."

"We have to try something your highness, the flanking group in the west is completely cut off and our remaining forces in the middle have only just crossed that damnable rockslide. The flanking group in the east can be moved back to assist but then we open up the east again and we still don't know for sure what happened there to begin with."

Euphie spoke up "I think that weird spear thing from before, that redirected our missiles onto Guilford was responsible for that."

The command staff pondered that for a second before they answered "They could have used it earlier as a designator before friendly forces fired heat seeking missiles at a indirect angle. It could work, but the spear paints a area rather than a target so it's rather ineffective."

Euphie nodded "Be that as it may it still works rather well, so I am forbidding the use of heat seeking missiles for the moment." she received no arguments about that.

With her authority unquestioned for now, her confidence rose somewhat. "However have them circle around to keep a look out for more possible ambushes."

A general spoke up "We can keep the birds in the air for another fifteen minutes, after that they will have to RTB or they'll fall out of the sky."

"That's fine" acknowledged Euphie and then asked "What's the ETA of those recovery vehicles Cornelia ordered?"

She knew they wouldn't help her rescue her sister, but she still wanted to rescue those soldiers still trapped underneath the rocks.

"It will be another hour or two at least, we had to conscript civilian contractors." explained a colonel.

"Crap, we missed our chance!" swore another

Euphie looked at the large tactical screen and saw what he was talking about. The Black Knights had taken her sister's cockpit inside the JLF's base itself.

Intelligence reports hadn't been clear on the layout of the interior but they all agreed it was a large underground maze. The bright side however was that despite the ripe environment for ambushes there weren't a lot of mounted defenses inside.

"Have the glasgows follow them inside the base but have them split up at every intersection. I won't have my men guided from one ambush to another. We'll sweep in like a flood and prevent them from taking our flanks."

The men nodded and relayed her orders.

* * *

**JLF base**

**Kallen pov**

"Hey Kinoshita can I bum a clip of ammo of you?" asked Kallen as they raced through the disorienting corridors of the JLF. They all looked alike, making it impossible for an outsider to find his way through, but somehow Zero was doing just that effortlessly.

They hadn't stopped once to check some landmark or whatever to make sure they were on track, heck they hadn't even slowed down.

"Sorry I haven't got any spares." replied Kinoshita before moving away subtly by taking the corners at a different angle.

Before he dropped out of view though Kallen could clearly see the two extra clips strapped to his Glasgow's legs.

She sighed, it seemed the hostility towards her had reached the point were it became active sabotage rather than just quietly wishing her dead.

Zero dropped back and reached down his leg and handed her his spare "Here."

Kallen mutely accepted his clip and reloaded her assault rifle. She was confident she could take on anyone in close quarters but that didn't mean she wanted to charge a firing squad.

Like the one that was following her.

She could hear the screeching of their land spinners echoing through the corridors. She couldn't tell where they were coming from, but she could tell they were getting closer.

* * *

Lelouch dialed Q2 after handing Kallen a spare clip of ammo. She wasn't going to need it, most likely. But small things like that went a long way towards cementing her trust.

"This is Q2" answered Leila

"Q2 how many knightmares followed us in?" He asked immediately.

"Sixty of them have already entered the base and the flanking groups have moved closer but haven't joined them yet. They're holding steady for now." answered Leila from her over watch position on the mountain to the west.

Lelouch grinned, sixty was more than plenty for the next part of his plan. "Thanks Q2, keep me posted" He then hung up and moved aside so that the Black Knight carrying Cornelia's cockpit could pass him.

He noticed he had fallen to the back of the group while he was calling. He couldn't maneuver as quickly and coordinate his men at the same time. So he had no choice but to slow down. But it didn't matter, he had told the others the route and they were almost there.

They only had to take another right, left right, right, right and then straight ahead towards the west. The secret tunnel would open up right behind the flanking group there.

The JLF had taken the tunnel towards the east that opened up inside those rocky outcroppings which had been accidentally guarded before.

The west exit had also been unintentionally guarded but the flanking force had been moved up and now it was clear.

He dialed general Katase next "Hello general."

"What do you want Zero?" asked general Katase gruffly

Lelouch ignored the man's rough manners and focused on his plan "I've lured in princess Cornelia's remaining forces into the JLF base and have captured princess Cornelia herself. I want you to remote detonate them on my mark."

"Wait you have captured the viceroy!" asked general Katase in astonishment.

Lelouch grinned,"I have." He answered simply. He didn't need to brag, his men would do it for him.

There was a long silence as general Katase pondered the new situation. Lelouch fell even farther behind and gave a quick order to his men to go on without him.

Kallen looked hesitant but eventually she followed the others out.

"I see," answered general Katase finally "In that case I demand you hand her over to us at once. With the Viceroy in our custody we can enter into negotiations with the Emperor himself for Japan!"

Lelouch snorted "You actually think the Emperor will care enough about his children to give up the cornerstone of his Empire"

"Every man holds his family dear, that man just puts up a better act than the rest of us. Even that stoic Tohdoh visits his relatives on their birthdays."

"Need I remind you about prince Lelouch and princess Nunnaly?" Lelouch questioned scathingly,

There was another long pause before the general replied "I never really believed the claims that brat made. Just because his father didn't have the time to hold his hand, doesn't mean he tried to kill him. War isn't so simple, that one man can control everything. He undoubtedly sent a special ops team to rescue them."

Lelouch seethed "Listen you brainless dolt, that man will never even consider trading Cornelia for Japan. The best you can hope for is a deal with Schneizel but he'll add extra clauses that will do more harm than good. Japan will likely become a vassal state of Britannia without the Empire's protection when it's attacked by the Chinese or whatever."

"You arrogant little bastard, don't you dare preach to me! I've been doing this before you were even born, so cut the attitude and hand over princess Cornelia"

Lelouch glared at his screen "You pathetic relic of a bygone era, are you too dimwitted to realize the situation? I won't waste Cornelia on such a useless ploy! I've got something better planned and I won't have some old man dictate what I can and can't do you hear me!"

Another long silence, Lelouch wished that man's brain wasn't full with useless concepts of pride and honor. Then maybe, just maybe it could think clearly enough to see the world for what it was and come up with an answer before he died of old age.

"Then you leave me with no choice…" answered general Katase finally "I'll commandeer princess Cornelia from your men myself."

Lelouch flexed his jaw muscles at the nerve of the old timer "You think they'll listen to you?"

He didn't get an answer, or maybe he did.

BOOM!

His eyes widened as he realized that all the explosives had been detonated on the load bearing columns. Lelouch looked upwards and saw cracks forming in the ceiling.

He cursed, those fucking bastards had betrayed him and were trying to kill him! He put any thoughts of revenge to the side and focused on coming up with a plan to survive a mountain falling on his head.

* * *

**author note**

take a minute to enjoy the after glow of the chapter if you need it before reading on.

now whomever seriously thinks lelouch is dead needs a refresher course on story mechanics. it happens but it's extremely rare and only when the supportive cast are main characters on their own and have already outshined the MC. the real question is how badly is he hurt?

i went with broken arms and restricted to a bed for a few weeks and a full body cast for months. but he'll make a full recovery. i considered a more permanent handicap but restricting him to a roll chair doesn't really affect him. his physical prowess is already shit so it's like beating a dead horse. it has some interesting implications for his public image and self image though. but i can't really say i can write it convincingly and consistently. a cripple would find difficulties in ways i could barely imagine.

brain damage would be a real set back but if lelouch is a incredibly sharp but brittle sword then that's taking a sledgehammer to it and shattering it. don't want to do a amnesiac lelouch either. it annoyed me enough in canon.

i have however written in mentions of lelouch suffering from PTSD in earlier chapters that he keeps under control with drugs. i did so because i read that without that steady pill regimen the symptoms can come back with a vengeance. i haven't been able to find some veteran stories to base it on though. so i got a perfect trigger to worsen his symptoms but no inspiration to write it.

so i would like some input on how much pain you want him to be in?

in other news i've taken some time to write a side story for fun on a reader's request. i'll be posting it soon. i've also been playing with a Code geass/ westeros crossover that refuses to take off. do you guys think a empire building lelouch in essos without the main westeros cast untill much later would be interesting?

at most there'll be some interaction with roberts rebellion. i want lelouch to build his own city and then conquer the other free cities to build a kingdom before then invading westeros during jofrey's reign by allying with the starks. the possible battles and strategies that could be used are so interesting that i just stare at a map of westeros for an hour. needs a ton of OC's though.

ps i hope this takes care of any gary stueness you might've been feeling.


	29. Different Priorities

**Arc Ten The Excavation**

**Chapter Twenty Nine Different Priorities**

Kallen drove up the hill while ignoring the frequent complaints from the viceroy. She seemed to enjoy distracting her or did it on purpose to increase the chances of a rescue attempt.

Kallen was betting on the latter, because the princess increased her volume whenever someone took too long to report back.

Though she did have something to complain about, Munakata wasn't exactly gentle with her cockpit. Cornelia had been jostled continuously and Kallen wouldn't be surprised if they needed a doctor to check for a concussion.

But petty concerns like that weren't even worth contemplating about, instead she focused her thoughts to why Zero hadn't caught up yet.

Was he grabbing some intelligence from the JLF or was he escaping through another route? Perhaps he wanted to link up with the JLF in the east or did he want to negotiate a merger with them now that they had proven their worth?

She didn't want to join the JLF because they were too lazy and complacent. But perhaps Zero could convince the blowhards to join the Black Knights instead.

The infusion of new blood would be nice, it would give her the chance to build her own faction before the old guard corrupted the new ones.

She was just about to call Q2 when she heard it.

BOOM!

She barely registered it at first, it was just another explosion after so many. She had grown almost deaf to the sound. She didn't turn her head towards the sound. She just glanced down at her tactical display to see if the JLF had done something.

What she saw though was enough to grab her attention. Scratch that, it was enough to make her world come crashing down.

She stared at the screen that showed a 3D rendering of a mountain collapsing and taking dozens of knightmares with it. But the spread of the red flood on her screen didn't interest her.

ZERO!

She frantically turned her frame around and raced back from whence she came. She ignored calls over her radio.

They were trying to get her to come back, to stop her from saving Zero.

Thus they were inconsequential. She could deal with them later, but right now she needed to act before it was too late.

She reached the opening of the tunnel and charged in at full speed. The darkness of the tunnel overtook her and she turned on her external lights to see anything. She called out to Zero, hoping the echo would travel down the tunnel to wherever he was.

She however realized it was a foolish hope when she collided with debris strewn across the corridor floor. She didn't manage to dodge it and tripped. She fell and face planted hard enough to actually lose her knightmare's head. But she didn't care, it was ornamental anyways.

She did care that the rocks completely blocked her path up ahead. She ignored her bruises and crawled towards them. She tried shifting them one by one and her knightmare's strength made it easy enough. But she saw dust falling from the ceiling.

She immediately worried that she was destabilizing things further and a second collapse was bound to happen if she continued. She didn't care though, she kept going, she had to save Zero. She absentmindedly noticed someone was behind her and was yelling at her through his external speakers. But she ignored him.

She regretted it when he shot her knigthmare to pieces. She immediately feared some Britannian bastard had gotten the drop on her.

But her eyes widened even more when she saw Yoshida standing there with his assault rifle raised. She wanted to scream in outrage and rip him limb from limb!

However her knightmare couldn't move anymore and was a hair's width away from auto ejecting.

"What are you doing Yoshida!" She demanded.

"Saving your sorry ass that's what." Yoshida answered immediately "Think would you, that collapse killed Zero and there's nothing we can do for him now."

Kallen could only stare at the easy betrayal of the Black Knights. She had accepted that they would abandon her. But she believed they would go back for Zero.

After all he had created the Black Knights, lead it and was the sole reason for its success. There wouldn't even be a point to remaining a member, if he wasn't leading it.

Yoshida continued explaining despite her disbelief "That bitch Q2 is blabbing about a plan that might retrieve his corpse. But we're not going to waste our time with that. Luckily however, The JLF contacted us too, and they offered to let us join up and join their elite ranks, so things work out in the end."

Kallen felt like killing Yoshida and anyone who would agree with him. But she needed answers "What did Q2 say?"

Yoshida scoffed "Some stupid plan to infiltrate the Britannian camp during the rescue effort. She apparently put out a unencrypted radio message that claimed Cornelia was buried down here as well. With their precious princess buried here they'll ignore us and excavate this entire mountain trying to find her."

Her own etiquette training crammed down her throat by her step-mother confirmed this instinctively.

"She proposed using the confusion by passing herself off as a Britannian civilian contracted to help dig her out. "

Kallen's eyes widened and desperately grabbed the lifeline that was thrown to her. Zero was alive and was just biding his time until she found him. And she was going to do so with Q2's plan.

Yes his queens were going to rescue the king.

* * *

**Kaguya pov**

Kaguya was furious, if she could bodily rip general Katase into tiny little pieces than she would do so. Her petite little figure sadly lacked the strength to do it. But using surgical instruments sounded like a decent alternative. Even if it took the better part of a week to slice him into said pieces.

"Kirihara I think you're underestimating the value of Zero" She countered angrily.

"I know you had a lot of faith in this newcomer Kaguya and I admit he was showing a lot of potential. But the fact remains that he is dead and there is nothing we can do about that. We need to play the hands we are dealt and if that means continuing to sponsor the JLF then so be it." he replied with a faint hint of exasperation and the air of a parent who was losing his patience with a misbehaving child.

That struck a nerve but she valiantly kept calm. "He took out a army of over two hundred knightmares with barely a platoon! If he had a real army at his command. He could have liberated our country!" Kaguya railed at him. Okay maybe she failed at keeping calm. She quickly schooled her features again after her little outburst that took some pressure of the need to hit her lifelong mentor.

Kirihara remained unfazed and shushed her "He used half a dozen tricks to do so though and they won't work another time. How can you be so sure he wasn't a one trick pony?"

Kaguya felt annoyed that she had to abide social etiquette while discussing events that would shape her country's future. She wanted to stand up and start pacing but they were still confined to seiza. Sometimes she herself didn't see the point in stubbornly keeping all their traditions. Independence and freedom from practical slavery were much higher on her list. A list she'd never accomplish without her double edged sword.

"This wasn't his first operation and you know it. I told you Zero is Lelouch and you haven't forgotten his work from when he was a mere child, have you? If anything he was merely preparing like he did before." She chopped her hand upwards in frustration "And now after his _death_," She laced that word with enough scorn that Kirihara averted his eyes for a moment."Will we see his full plan unfold, _again_?"She finished in a mocking tone

Kirihara frowned at that thought "I'll admit that boy's ability to plan ahead was remarkable, but he's still dead" He paused for a second and then added "For real this time. "

Kaguya was about to complain some more when he continued "I would have wholeheartedly supported him as well lady Sumeragi. I measured that boy's worth and I know he was sincere in trying to bring down Britannia and had the skill to pull it off eventually."

"Not eventually, he was ready right now! His entire organization was built to run the country after the Britannians retreated. He hardly even needed our help. He could have done it by himself and we let the bloody JLF kill him and now pat them on the back by giving them the Guren mark two!"

Kirihara shrugged "You may not like them personally Kaguya but they are still the best hope for Japan. You need to keep personal feelings out of business decisions" He said with practiced resigned acceptance. he wasn't happy but he'd dealt with enough set backs in his long life to not get upset over minor ones.

Kaguya seethed at her mentor. It wasn't a minor one, it was the one that historians would speculate about as the one chance her nation had. She wiped off all traces of anger of her face though and adopted a politely smiling mask. "I apologize I have allowed my feelings to cloud my judgement."

But just before Kirahara was about to forgive her and say something patronizing about how she was still young and needed to learn. She added " I foolishly let myself be pressured into continuing my support for the JLF when I knew they were a bad investment. From now on I will cut off all support for them and focus on more worthwhile avenues to pursue a independent Japan."

With that said she got up and left without glancing back. She knew she was being rude but she didn't care. She could hear Kirahara chuckling behind her, no doubt thinking it some youthful exuberance or something. But she was dead serious, Lelouch had been the best or even only chance for Japan to be freed. And if he somehow lived than he was certainly blaming the JLF for his injuries, and possibly the Japanese by extension.

She knew Lelouch despised racism but things like that seep in undetected and she didn't doubt he was actually a racist. He was just a racist against Britannian nobles.

She shuddered at the thought of Japan joining that list. No, she couldn't allow that to happen. So if he lived, she had to charm his pants off to save her country.

* * *

**Blood of the Samurai**

**Suzaku**

'Where did it go?' wondered suzaku as he checked underneath the table again. He had to find It before his superior came to check on him.

If his superior found out he lost a vital piece during disassembly making the gun practically worthless then he was going to get kicked of the gun cleaning detail.

Suzaku groaned as he eyeballed the room again, not understanding where it had gone. The room itself was pretty bare to prevent situations like this from happening in the first place.

He idly fingered the piece of paper with all the serial numbers he had gathered for the day in his pocket while scratching his head in confusion. That little slip of paper would ease his worries about having to pay his electric and gas bill for another three months, in the hands of his _other _superior

The police would run them down and arrest whomever sold them in the first place, stopping the violence at its source.

His friend/source Tanaka walked into the room "Hey Suzaku, a bunch of the guys are going out tonight wanna join?"

Suzaku wanted to say yes, not just because he genuinely liked hanging out with Tanaka but also because he could be really loose lipped after ten beers.

However he also had that list of serial numbers burning a hole in his pocket. He needed to get that somewhere safe first.

"Yeah I'd love to, but I need to go home first and grab some extra money or I'd just be drinking on your tab all night."

Tanaka laughed "No worries mate, tonight we're drinking on the JLF's dime. I guess you haven't heard with you being stuck cleaning guns all day, but yesterday the JLF scored a victory against the britannians."

That piqued Suzaku's interest, if he hadn't heard about it, then it was either too minor to bother with or it was so big it was humiliating.

"What happened did they steal a shipment of knightmares?"

"Nah something far better than that, Tohdoh finally got out of retirement and did another Itsukushima. Though I suppose a new nick name is in order. From the gossip I heard so far he moved mountains and made fire rain down from the skies, pretty apocalyptic stuff. I'm guessing the JLF boys are beefing the story up a bit, but they did defeat over two hundred knightmares and captured Cornelia. So they have a right to."

Suzaku's eyes widened in shock. They couldn't have, could they?

There was no way they could have defeated that many knightmares and even if they did. What was going to be Britannia's response? They certainly weren't going to take the humiliation lying down. His mind immediately thought of the unfair repression methods that were going to be introduced as a result.

Why couldn't people realize terrorism only created more problems than it solved. "I can't believe it!" He choked out.

Tanaka however took it the other way, "Yeah I can barely believe it myself, but that's what tonight is for. They're gonna show some pictures of their victory and princess Cornelia in a prison cell to rally some support and prove those who doubted them wrong."

Suzaku stiffened at that, he suddenly realized a solution to this mess. If he was the one to deliver the critical information that got princess Cornelia rescued. Then it could permanently change how the higher ups looked at numbers. It might even get him promoted.

If he could convince one of the JLF to let him keep a photo he could bring it back to his superiors and have them figure out from the background where she was.

Or alternatively get a JLF member drunk enough that he'll let the location slip unintentionally and mount a rescue himself.

* * *

**Britannian broadcast**

"This is Robert Davies reporting,

We are just five minutes away from the Emperor making a worldwide announcement in response to the heinous acts of _eleven _terrorists.

For those who have missed it, I'll give a brief overview. One week ago princess Cornelia challenged the so called liberation army of area eleven to a fight. But rather than fighting honorably they used every trick in the book and invented several new ones to deceive our illustrious leader.

They managed to cut her off from her loyal soldiers and overwhelmed her with superior local force. They kidnapped her highness and used her as bait to lure her brave soldiers into a trap inside their very base itself.

They used explosives to collapse the base in on itself to kill our rescuers and then gave out a false broadcast that princess Cornelia was within as well. This deception caused general Darlton to abandon the chase to focus solely on rescuing her highness.

This decision was later proven to be a mistake when the terrorists announced they still had princess Cornelia hostage and demanded the cessation of Japan in return for her release.

Prince Schneizel has already announced his intentions in the media to do whatever it took to rescue princess Cornelia, even if it took another temporary release of area eleven from the fold.

Which prompted his detractors to claim he would ruin the empire itself to preserve his political alliance with princess Cornelia. The very alliance that has allowed him to rule Britannia virtually unopposed.

Now no one can deny off course that the prince has had a strong influence in…hold on...

I just received word that the Emperor is ready to make his address." Davies gathered his notes on the table and prepared to sign off.

The Emperor appeared on the screen behind a lectern with a Britannian flag as a backdrop.

"All men are not created equal, some are born swifter of foot, some with greater beauty, some are born into poverty and others are born sick and feeble.

Both in birth and in upbringing, in sheer scope of ability, every human is inherently different.

Yes that is why people discriminate against one another, which is why there is struggle, competition and the unfaltering march of progress.

Inequality, is not wrong, equality is!

What of the EU who made equality a right, rabble politics by a popularity contest.

The Chinese federation with it equal distribution of wealth, a nation of lazy dullards.

But not our beloved Britannia, we fight, we compete, evolution is continuous.

Britannia alone moves forward, advancing steadily into the future.

Even the loss of my daughter Cornelia, demonstrates Britannia's unswerving commitment to progress. We shall fight on, we shall struggle and we shall dominate.

I will not give even a scrap to these weaklings begging at our dinner table. If they want to disobey our rule, then they'll have to show us they have the right to, by force.

The truth Is that everything worth taking, is taken by force because no man would willingly relinquish it, without a fight.

Britannia understands that simple truth and we have become the strongest by living by it rather than twisting things to appease the morality of the weak.

And we shall not mince words now, Britannia shall prove once more it is the strongest, all hail Britannia!"

* * *

**Tohdoh pov**

**Temporary JLF base**

**General Tohdoh's personal quarters**

"He certainly is laying it on thick isn't he" commented Urabe at the broadcast.

Tohdoh nodded with tighted clenched lips "With this public proclamation he's made it clear that we can expect nothing in return for his daughter."

"Tch, you'd think the bastard would have at least a soft spot for his most successful general. But instead he creates a 'no negotiating with terrorists' rule specifically to tie Schneizel's hands all under his damnable ideology" said Asahina

Chiba looked out the window at the new recruits running drills "What do you think the general will make of this?"

Tohdoh followed her gaze and noticed Kururugi Suzaku running at the head of the pack. He frowned at his errant disciple, who may have returned to the right path."I'm not sure, the general fully expected this tactic to work. I'll gauge his mood later after he has had time to process the news. But right now we need to consolidate the gains we did achieve with this ploy."

Asahina laughed "Those recruits may have joined thanks to false rumors of your prowess Lt. colonel, but it won't be long before they realize that you weren't even at Narita."

Tohdoh frowned at that but Chiba answered for him "It isn't the Lt. colonel's fault that the general allowed the rumors to persist."

Urabe shrugged "But the general didn't create them either, most of the rank and file didn't even know the Black Knights showed up. As far as they know, the only possible reason they escaped and achieved a decisive victory, had to have been because Tohdoh came back with the Sutherlands from Kyoto. "

Senba nodded "If we say otherwise now, then we'll just call ourselves liars in their eyes and lose the trust of our men."

Tohdoh spoke up "It is regrettable and dishonorable but we must keep up the ruse to prevent morale from slipping. We can expect Britannia to retaliate with a vengeance. If we are undecided and hesitant, then we'll shame the sacrifice made by the Black Knights' leader."

Asahina laughed again at that "Is that what we're calling it, we both know that general Katase double-crossed him after he did the dirty work. We would have been destroyed without him and we repaid him with a dagger in his back."

Chiba retorted "The general saw a good chance to leverage the viceroy against Japan but Zero refused to comply with his orders. In fact he did as he pleased the entire battle."

She shook her hand at him "If he had just coordinated with us from the start then we wouldn't have suffered so many losses in the opening stages to begin with. He knew about the attack or he wouldn't have been here. But he neglected to tell us!"

Senba snorted" So he wasn't exactly a friend, but he wasn't our enemy either. If we could expect every resistance cell in Japan to obey our orders then retaking Japan wouldn't be such a faraway dream.

The only reason why we can instill some obedience, is our prominence in the fight against Britannia. But after Kusakabe's foolishness, our popularity has plummeted to the point that some of our sympathizers informed on us to the Britannians. If word gets out about this, then we are finished with or without Kyoto's continued support."

Tohdoh nodded "I agree, but to wipe away our disgrace we must win once again."

He let that sink in for a moment before he ordered "Urabe I'm placing you in charge of the recruits from the Blood of the Samurai. Senba your job is the Katana of Truth and the Black Knights fall to Chiba while Asahina deals with the ordinary applicants with no prior affiliation."

The four Holy Swords immediately acknowledged their orders loudly but Chiba then spoke up "If I may ask Lt. colonel, why am I placed in charge of the Black Knights?"

"I reviewed the intelligence reports we have on them, and it's clear that their second in command was a woman called Q2 while their ace pilot Q1 was also female. So I expect them to be more accepting of a woman in charge than the other groups."

Chiba grumbled under her breath about misogynistic bastards.

Tohdoh didn't comment on it, he didn't want to get dragged into a long discussion about the place of females in the army. Which may be inevitable with his next comment

"However I also need someone who Q1 can open up to. The Black Knights reported that she and Q2 went on a suicide mission to try to rescue their leader. There hasn't been any word from them since, but if they do show up. I need someone who can understand her and channel her frustration against Britannia and with us."

The fact that Q1 was likely to murder them all in their sleep went unsaid, but he couldn't just ignore her either. She was too skilled to let Britannia eventually kill her, so they had to recruit her somehow.

Chiba chewed on her bottom lip"I doubt some shared interests and traits will endear her enough to join us, at best we can hope she joins another group that won't actively attack us."

Urabe quirked a brow in interest "You think she'll join the britannians just for a chance to kill us?"

Chiba nodded "I spoke to some guy called Sugiyama and he said she looked like a Britannian because she is a half-breed. If she wants to, she can pilot a Sutherland under Britannia's banner in under a year."

Asahina nodded "Yeah, apparently she's some noble who sympathized with us and took up the fight personally. But her comrades have been treating her like shit lately, and the leader she trusted above all else just got killed by us and none of the Black Knights seem to care."

Senba added "Her psych profile said she seemed to be driven by revenge for her brother's death first and foremost. With this betrayal she might now seek revenge on us instead, even if it means abandoning her friends and beliefs. She did it before when she joined the resistance."

Tohdoh took all this in and with the eye towards the future of Japan he said "I'll place a surveillance unit on her. If she shows any signs of defecting I'll sanction a assassination."

The word left a bitter aftertaste in his mouth, but in war one couldn't be picky about their methods.

"Well at least on the bright side you can pilot that experimental knightmare in our next clash with Britannia. I read through the manual and It reads like a science fiction novel, if even half the things in it are true then you'll be wiping the floor with those Glaston knights." said Asahina to change the subject.

Tohdoh frowned "The specs are excellent but its weapons are barbaric and crude. I would have preferred a sword or even a staff with the radiant wave surger attached to the end." though he couldn't deny he felt some excitement at piloting the high spec machine.

Chiba smiled at him encouragingly "You can just ignore it if you want, but the fact remains that you're the best pilot we have. If not you, then who else can pilot that high tech frame?"

Urabe added "For once we have the technological superiority thanks to Kyoto, even if their Sutherlands came late. With the promise of this unit we can turn the tides."

* * *

**Suzaku**

"Put it over there, with the others." said his superior.

Suzaku could barely see where he was pointing but he managed to carry the munitions case where it was supposed to go, or near enough.

Suzaku straightened out and wiped the sweat of his brow. He was in good shape but lugging big heavy crates around all day still tired him out.

"Here " said his superior and then threw him a bottle of water.

Suzaku caught it" Thanks" He drank a large gulp before the thought that it might be poisoned even crossed his mind.

He frowned slightly at the thought that his friends might betray him at any second when they realized he was betraying them.

"So what's in these cases anyways?" He asked to distract himself.

Koyabashi shrugged "I think it was 83 millimeter artillery rounds or something. Either way it's obsolete junk, but we cant discard it because we might still need it. You know every little bit helps."

Suzaku nodded but internally he frowned at the notoriously inaccurate weapon that caused a lot of unnecessary collateral damage.

"Well now that we're done here, you can head on over to captain Urabe. You'll be a bit early but it'll give you a chance to check out the knightmare simulators at your leisure. I've seen enough new recruits so dazzled by all the shiny buttons and displays that they got defeated before they even knew where the gas pedal was."

Suzaku didn't need to worry about that, he had gone through basic training which included knightmare simulations. He had been told beforehand that he couldn't pilot one, but it was still useful to know the full capability of every machine that could kill you on the battlefield.

"Yeah I'll think I'll do that. I don't want to make an ass out of myself in front of my new commander." agreed suzaku

Kobayashi laughed and padded him on the back "Don't worry you'll do fine, if worst comes to worst they'll just stick you in one of the artillery batteries. We need every man on deck to repel Britannia. "

Suzaku nodded and said his farewells as he made his way towards the simulators.

Was that why Kusakabe threatened those hostages?

Because recruitment standards had slackened and he had to appease a anxious and undisciplined army to prevent a revolt. Did general Katase knowingly order it to secure his power base?

No what he knew of the man, was that he held his honor close to his heart or at least the appearance of it. He had heard from the Britannian military that the JLF's version of events was spotty at best and pure propaganda at worst.

The military wasn't very willing to publicize they had lost to a newcomer rather than seasoned veterans. But they were still considering it, to destabilize the JLF at a crucial juncture.

He had half expected to have a sit-down with the man where he could pick his brain about Narita. When he joined up with the rest of the Blood of the Samurai. But so far the man had ignored him and treated him like any other recruit.

He guessed it was to instill some discipline and to crush any notion that he could have his way simply because he was the prime minister's son.

Though the fact that he killed his father and the general knew it, was more likely, though he didn't want to think about it.

Heck, he had opposed his handler's orders, when the Blood of the Samurai was absorbed into the JLF along with other groups after the battle of Narita.

He could be facing a firing squad or a promotion to the ranks of the elite at any second.

* * *

**Urabe pov**

**Officers' break room**

Urabe walked into the break room to grab some coffee after a annoying session with his recruits. As he walked through the door he spotted Chiba looking over some reports on the couch.

"Hey Chiba, how did your day go?"

Chiba didn't respond immediately but finished her paragraph first "Could have been better, they're split into several factions and the core leadership of the group is missing. It's like we got the dregs, while every skilled member followed Q2 on her suicide mission."

Urabe frowned for a second "So we still haven't tracked down the queens huh?"

He knew kallen Stadtfeldt had also dropped of the map. She hadn't shown up at school or the ghetto or any known associates.

"Yeah, which is undermining my leadership role. I have several loudmouths trying to establish themselves as the new leader of the group. It's like they want to join the JLF, but still want to be treated like Black Knights." Chiba scoffed

"I get nothing but complaints from the little prima donnas, apparently Zero had set up nearly unlimited ammo, money, food and equipment, you name it and he had it. The spoilt little brats expect everything to come falling out of the sky and every time I try to make them see sense, they complain that the JLF is just incompetent." the report crumpled slightly in her hands from squeezing too hard.

"Sheesh that's rough, well at least they have the skills to back it up right?" said Urabe thinking of the seven to one odds they had faced at Narita and came out victorious.

Chiba threw her report on the table in annoyance "I'd wish, they are average at best and barely passable at worst. I can't believe Zero actually commanded this bunch of idiots to victory. The more time I spend with them the more I think the core group was solely responsible and pulled their weight."

Urabe opened his mouth to say something uplifting but nothing came out.

He took a sip of coffee to stall for time, and then it hit him.

"Didn't the Black Knights have a expansive economic network? We at least salvaged that right?" He asked to remind Chiba of the silver lining.

Chiba just glared at him "Nope not even that, the military branch was separate from the civil one and Q1 was in charge of it along with Zero himself."

Urabe frowned "Their ace pilot headed the civil branch, why wasn't she a captain in the military one?"

"She was a captain but also the civil chief. She got promoted based on merit and her early entrance into the organization. But thanks to that, the entire civil branch is loyal to her and Zero. I've tried reaching out to some of them but most just ignore us. They don't want anything to do with the military and like their set up just fine."

"I see what you mean by dregs." commiserated Urabe

Chiba sighed and then said "Well how was your day Urabe?"

Urabe chuckled "It doesn't beat yours but it wasn't great either. I have the prime minister's son in my group so everyone naturally looks to him as a leader. Off course they don't know about him killing his own father and I couldn't tell them that. But I had to do something to knock him from his pedestal, before internal pressure forces us to promote the little bastard."

"So you challenged him to a simulated knightmare fight huh." said Chiba in amusement.

"Wow am I that predictable" said Urabe at which Chiba just gave him a blank look. "Anyways, you're right I did challenge the kid and he wiped the floor with me. Well I did put up a decent fight but he wasn't supposed to scratch me, let alone beat me. So he's now the new hero of the recruits and anything else I do to him will be seen as bullying, because I lost to him."

"So he's untouchable now" summarized Chiba

"Yep I shoot myself in my own foot, every time I try to make him look bad." They'd just develop a us versus them mentality which would be fine if he was just their drill sergeant but he needed to command them eventually so he couldn't have them disrespecting him. And worse the little shit would become the natural leader. Even if they put someone else in charge, the men would still look to him and undermine their actual leader.

"Maybe you can switch with Senba every now and then, and have him put that brat in his place."

Urabe thought about it and the seniority of Senba would command a lot of respect, only Tohdoh would be better.

"Good idea I'll bring it up the next time I see him." said Urabe before he relaxed some more on the couch "Who knew this drill sergeant business was so tough, I'm definitely thanking Tohdoh the next time I see him for straightening me out."

Chiba raised both eyebrows and smirked "Better late than never."


	30. Chapter 30

**Chapter Thirty i'll come up with a title later**

**Princess Cornelia**

Cornelia thanked her sister Euphie yet again as she squatted down on her toilet. She hadn't thought much about writing a treatise on the rights of POWs but every time she saw the JLF follow her own words. She thanked Euphie for putting her up to it.

The rules predating her treatise weren't bad but they weren't enforced often. But with her endorsement and Schneizel's manipulations it soon became barbaric and unthinkable not to follow them.

She held no illusions that the JLF was taking good care of her out of the kindness of their hearts. If anything they were trying to manipulate her and failing that, the people by not pissing them off unnecessarily by torturing her.

Well, provable torture that is, she was glad she was used to military rations because her food was barely edible. It wasn't unrecognizable gruel or covered in ants or anything, just prepared with a microwave if she had to guess. Some parts were overcooked, others under, tough, dry and generally tasteless. Still the highlight of her day though.

She looked up when the guards at her cell snapped to attention signifying someone of importance was finally going to interrogate her. She had expected to be put through the ringer for vital military secrets from day one, but somehow that didn't happen.

And by now she was sure that Darlton had changed all schedules and compositions of the army to make anything she said under duress worthless.

She was surprised however, when general Katase himself showed up at her cell door. She had expected Lt. colonel Tohdoh and had been looking forward to meeting the man himself. But this bureaucratic waste of space was beneath her, even when she was behind bars and had nothing better to do.

"How the mighty have fallen." remarked general Katase smugly at her predicament.

Princess Cornelia however just shrugged unconcernedly and pushed a little harder to get her number two out. "Are you here to talk about my bathroom rituals or to negotiate. I didn't peg you as a pervert general, a idiot yes but not a pervert."

The general's cheeks flushed red at her comment and he averted his eyes. Cornelia didn't care though, modesty was one of the first things she learned to live without both in the military and in here.

She got up from the toilet and washed her hands in the sink "I'm decent now general, you can look without becoming the laughing stock of a nation. Though I suppose you already are, with Zero wiping your ass for you at Narita."

"I seem to recall him leading you by the nose as well princess Cornelia" returned general Katase with a little bit of heat.

Cornelia shrugged "The man had ample preparations and studied me well, I suppose that is the downside to being famous. Every upcoming officer studies your strategies in detail trying to find flaws in it. He was just better at it than most, though I doubt you'll ever face that problem general Katase."

The general flushed red in anger but he was biting his tongue for now. She knew it wasn't a smart move to antagonize her captors but she wasn't willing to play meek either.

The general recomposed himself and said "I wouldn't be so arrogant if I were you. The Emperor has already denied our ransom demand making you useless to us."

Cornelia mockingly raised an eyebrow at this intimidation attempt "You think I don't know my own father?" She hadn't been expecting a rescue since the first invasion of Japan.

The general gritted his teeth at her insolence, "You'd think he'd value you more considering you carved out most of his conquests."

Cornelia shrugged again "That man would rather see me dead than alive. He knows I control a large faction of the Empire and together with Schneizel we control most of it. We could have overthrown him in a few years but with me out of the way it'll take Schneizel another decade at this rate." said Cornelia to paint her father as a common enemy. It was doubtful it would bring them together as allies but it was better than taking the hard core patriotic stance. That was a guaranteed beating waiting to happen. Incidentally it was also the truth.

General Katase gasped "What!" He took a few steps back in shock "Are you saying you're plotting to take the throne?"

Cornelia merely raised an eyebrow "Naturally" though it was a mere act on her part, the fact that every high ranking noble did expect her to plot against him was true and would help her sell the story. She doubted he had the spies and sources that could confirm that though. Perhaps a eleven infiltrating as a servant might overhear something like that, now that the balance of power was shifting, in private but that counted on too much luck and skill. Something general Katase seemed to be sorely lacking.

"Forget the Emperor and contact Schneizel discreetly and demand a king's ransom, something along the lines of half of Japan's GDP."

General Katase frowned "What? But there's no way he could gather that much money in secret."

Cornelia chuckled "You underestimate my brother, he already has and is using it on private research."

The good general froze for a minute. No doubt trying to reconcile two contradicting facts and failing but unwilling to ask for the sake of his pride. Eventually his pride gave in to curiosity though. "But why would you knowingly sabotage your brother by suggesting we demand so much?"

Cornelia sighed "I don't feel like explaining the intricacies of the royal court to you or we'd be here all night. However I'll say this much, together Schneizel and I control the majority for now, but eventually we'll come to heads." She paused for a moment to let him picture them killing each other.

"But for the moment Schneizel needs me, so he'll pay the ransom and not ask me to pay it back, to have my continued cooperation. But that man will discard me eventually" She inflected as much bitterness as she could into that statement but followed it up with a slightly more optimistic "So I need to prolong that timetable of his for as long as possible. If I can stall his side projects by robbing some of his funds then it's a win-win for the both of us."

General Katase still seemed shocked for a minute before a smile slowly spread, that spanned from ear to ear. "I think we can work something out."

Cornelia faked a smile and shook on it.

She repressed the feeling of revulsion of having to touch that man and the lies she had to tell in order to save her life. Well she wasn't sure they were lies, just some idle concerns she had for the future.

She like many others couldn't gauge or predict Schneizel, so she really did prefer stalling whatever plan he had until Euphie grew up. She didn't think Euphie would get swept up in the game of thrones, unless it was to get to her. But she still preferred that Euphie was capable of taking care of herself, when she couldn't protect her.

"There is still the matter of the Emperor's new 'No negotiations with terrorists policy" said general Katase in disgust. But also hinting that Schneizel couldn't publicly announce what he was paying and therefore the JLF couldn't release her without losing face. Losing a high value hostage would make them seem incompent and a laughing stock to their new recuits and reduce morale.

Cornelia shrugged " Just have Schneizel send a special ops team to rescue me and provide some token resistance. He can take credit for the win without catching any flak." And a crack team of highly trained specialists would be easier to stomach than a break out done by herself. the JLF would lose some grunt soldiers but gain more in terms of finance and equipment to make it a worthwhile trade off.

General Katase nodded thoughtfully "That would work, however we don't need that much money. It cannot buy us Japan and is thus nearly worthless to us."

Cornelia begged to differ, it would go a long way towards preventing Japan from falling into third world status after it was freed, if it ever was.

"Then ask Schneizel for knightmares, I'm sure he can acquire a hundred or so discreetly" Cornelia suggested instead

She didn't like giving these terrorists weapons but she could deal with them easily enough once she was out of here. It had been Zero who had defeated her, while this idiot had lost with a superior position and numerical forces.

He'd just been Zero's forlorn hope, the sacrificial first wave that created a breach and secured a foothold for the second wave. Or perhaps sacrificial bait was more appropriate. Either way this guy's only role had been to soak up the damage while Zero dealt the heavy blows while coming off smelling like roses by pushing all his casualties onto the JLF. He was completely ruthless and brilliant enough that she wasn't ashamed to say she'd lost to him. She hadn't made any real mistakes as far as she could tell. She just didn't know the advantages and disadvantages of Zero's new weapons and breakthroughs in equipment had rendered previously effective tactics completely useless dozens of times in history. She'd figure them out though and be prepared for their next battle.

* * *

**Ghetto**

Suzaku pov

Suzaku drudged up the stairs of his apartment complex while trying to ignore the pain in his thighs. He was thankful he had already gone through basic training and kept himself fit or Urabe really would have driven him into the ground.

Judging from the grumblings of his squad mates they were being singled out for some reason. If the Black Knights had to run ten miles then they had to do twenty with weights on.

He had the sneaking suspicion it was because of him, due to Urabe giving him the stink eye whenever he thought he wasn't looking. He wasn't sure what it meant though. Were they preparing him for a fast track to take advantage of his name or did Urabe have something against the Kururugi family.

He hadn't done anything personally against him. He quickly suppressed the memory of his time with the Blood. Not that Urabe could know about that. So what else could it be?

He shrugged of the question as he opened his door and flicked on the light.

It took him a few seconds to realize what he was looking at because it was so unexpected. But once he did, he immediately dropped and rolled out of the doorway and into the hallway while simultaneously grabbing his pistol.

"Now, no need to overreact special agent Kururugi" said a voice from his living room.

Suzaku panicked for a second when he heard his new rank outside of a military base before he realized the voice belonged to his superior, lieutenant Hillmick

He straightened up and walked into his living room and holstered his gun after confirming his lieutenant wasn't being held at gun point.

"Sit down Kururugi we need to talk." ordered his lieutenant in a no nonsense voice.

Suzaku did as commanded and chose the chair that was halfway in between the door and the couch the lieutenant was sitting on.

"Now as you're undoubtedly aware, the JLF has captured princess Cornelia. For that precise reason we forced you to join them in a bid to gather some intelligence to help us rescue her."

Suzaku nodded but he was confused about why his superior chose to visit him personally "I logged every pertinent detail and added them to my daily reports sir?" the question: 'what more do you want from me' hung in the air

"I know and while your reports have been enlightening and reassuring, especially when we read that Cornelia was being treated according to her own standards. It still isn't enough, we need a inside man to pull this rescue off."

Suzaku gulped as he heard the order to execute a dangerous mission that could easily blow his cover. "But I thought you wanted me to infiltrate the leadership."

lieutenant Hilmick glared at him for a moment before scoffing. "I read your reports and we both know they have shown no interest in you whatsoever. If they haven't done so by now it's unlikely they will in the future. We won't waste resources, for a negligible return in the future when we must rescue the viceroy right now."

Suzaku saluted "Off course sir" after feeling chastised by the reprimand.

"We would have preferred using our other plants inside the JLF but the plan necessitates your involvement due to your high knightmare simulation scores."

Suzaku looked up in surprise, was he being allowed to pilot a knightmare?

"We have confirmed intelligence that the JLF will be receiving an experimental knightmare next month. Your job will be to steal it and wreak havoc during the operation to provide a distraction for our special ops team. If you can bring it back intact, then do so, but it is secondary to rescuing princess Cornelia."

Suzaku nodded resolutely at his apparent suicide order "Very well I will save the princess even if it costs me my life."

His superior only laughed at him "You don't think you'll be doing this alone do you? You're just the opening act to cause confusion before we hit them with an external attack."

Lieutenant Hillmick looked conflicted for a second before he divulged the details. "The Glaston knights led by lord Guilford will airdrop right into the building itself to sweep aside any remaining resistance. You only need to go on a killing spree and keep the collateral damage to the building to a minimum while we do the rest."

Suzaku felt a sour taste in his mouth as the words 'killing spree' reverberated in his head.

"I understand sir." He replied while looking at his feet but then he thought of his friends, Tanaka and Koyabashi and so many others who had their hearts in the right place but were merely misguided. His misgiving that he was only creating a new Mizuki and Mizuka was coming true, a lot sooner than expexted.

"We'll be arresting those who won't resist and give them a trial then?" asked Suzuku hopefully

He supposed there was at least one silver lining to this, if he could give a strong testimonial at his friend's court cases.

The lieutenant laughed again"Off course we'll give them a trial" He confirmed

Suzaku felt his confidence in the system boost with this confirmation that justice could still be found within it.

But the lieutenant's next sentence made it come crashing down again "Though it'll be a military tribunal and the only question will be if we execute them right away or interrogate them first."

"What! But what about due process?" questioned Suzaku in outrage at this blatant perversion of justice.

Lieutenant Hillmick shrugged "They are complicit in kidnapping royalty, not one judge will go lenient on them and no attorney will defend them to the best of their ability. The verdict is a foregone conclusion, but we'll adhere to due process nonetheless to appease the democratic nations, who will no doubt criticize us over it."

Suzaku clenched his fist "So you're just going to put on a show for appearances' sake."

Lieutenant Hillmick got up from his couch and walked up to him and placed one hand on his shoulder "I apologize for our system not living up to your dreams but the world has been doing show trials since before the Emperor was born. Heck the EU was founded on it, when they executed every noble in sight for the crimes of a few." He mimed a guillotine by chopping the back of his head, hinting at the terror of Robespierre

Suzaku didn't feel reassured with the thought that the world had been only paying lip service to morality for years while continuing to do whatever it wanted in the shadows. The reminder that even revolutionaries with beautiful ideas could descend into such madness and be worse than what preceded it only reafirmed his belief though. History celebrated successful revolutions but only made a foot note of the ones that failed. It was pure romanticism and gambling with the country's wellfare and future. The few injustices of a tyrannical regime were still better than the many of a civil war and the oppression of the new and old regime trying to keep order.

it was wrong but it was less wrong and he'd improve it from within. So he kept his tongue, he didn't need to antagonize the only superior he had met, who was even remotely tolerant of Japanese.

* * *

**Milly Ashford pov**

Milly walked into her grandfather's office to discuss a very important matter.

She opened her mouth as soon as she cleared the doors. "Gramps I haven't heard from Romeo in over two weeks!"

Though she said it flippantly. The fact that Lelouch had practically dropped off the grid while he normally called her every three days or at least every week was enough to worry her.

Her grandfather looked even older as he seemed to deflate at her words. "I was dreading this" He mumbled softly before he motioned her to take a seat.

Once she did her grand father took a deep breath and started his explanation "I've been hoping to keep this from you until it resolved itself. But it seems I can no longer be so selfish." He said somewhat apologetically.

Milly moved to the edge of her seat as she leaned forward in anxious anticipation. "What are you saying gramps?"

Ruben Ashford weaved his fingers together and leaned over as well as he contemplated how to word his news "I'm afraid all contact has been lost with Lelouch after the battle of Narita in Japan. I reached out to Sayako to get more details and she reported back that Lelouch was double crossed by the JLF and buried alive."

Milly's eyes widened in shock, her mouth fell open but no words came out to describe her horror.

It was a rare day when Milly Ashford was struck speechless but the news of her childhood friend's death was more than enough to warrant it.

Ruben tried to fill the void, after the uncomfortable silence stretched too long. "Sayoko was busy on a separate mission when this happened. i think it was a assasination of a political opponent in Saitama. She aborted it before she could finish it, so she could rescue Lelouch. Her last message said she was searching for him but hadn't found him yet."

Milly heard her grandfather but only understood that Sayoko hadn't found him, which could be good and bad.

"You said he was buried alive, so he might have been rescued by the britannians seeing it's their territory. So they would have been in charge of rescue operations." said Milly clinging to the vain hope that Lelouch was mistaken for a unknown Britannian pilot and taken to a hospital.

"We have tried that avenue but it has dead ended as well. There was one Richard Reed who mysteriously disappeared after only spending one night in the hospital despite serious injuries. Mister Reed has no prior history with any government institution, not even a birth certificate. Leading us to believe it was a fake name that Lelouch came up with on the fly."

Milly stood up from her chair and yelled "That's it! Lelouch just improvised and then passed out from his injuries and hasn't been able to contact us yet and his people don't know about us."

Ruben nodded "We believe so as well but sadly even Sayoko hasn't been able to determine who took him with certainty, though she is sure it is Q2 AKA Leila Malcal who took him."

Milly cocked her head to the side in confusion "But Leila knows his identity and knows Sayoko even if she doesn't know we're involved which I doubt." She finished with a hint of suspicion "But she should have contacted Sayoko."

"..."

She now understood her grandfather's grim expression "She should have, unless she herself suffered difficulties or is playing to her own agenda."

He added "Though it is possible it just slipped her mind. Sayoko performed more of a local PR position than Lelouch's trusted bodyguard."

Milly screamed "How the hell couldn't she have known that Sayoko was loyal to Lelouch!"

Ruben for once didn't tell her to quiet down and act as a proper lady should, but let her vent to her heart's content. "I think it's because the fledgling organization that Lelouch founded was split into several factions after his disappearance. Most are merely passive but some joined the JLF who nearly killed him."

Milly's eyes widened at the predicament Leila Malcal found herself in and by extension Lelouch. "She doesn't know who she can trust and she can't suffer another betrayal with only a few trusted men she can count on." realized Milly

Ruben grabbed some strong liquor from his desk drawer and poured himself a drink. "Indeed, every member of the Black Knights professed undying loyalty, but aligned themselves with his murderer before his corpse was even cold."

Milly flinched at the picture that painted in her mind and her grandfather shot her a apologetic look for his tactlessness.

"Sayoko's loyalty is suspect just as much as the others, and until she can prove herself to Leila Malcal somehow or Lelouch wakes up. We have no way of knowing what happened to him."

"Can't we do something?" Milly asked hoping there was something even if It was negligible to help Lelouch. She couldn't take doing nothing, it would drive her insane.

Her grandfather looked compassionately at her but shook his head "I've already sent Jeremiah to help Sayoko in her search but there isn't much more we can do from our end other than leaning on general Smilas in case Leila reports in to him for assistance."

Milly nodded glumly but then a idea came to her "What if we convince the TV network I'm working for to run a special on what happened to the leader of the Black Knights. If the JLF killed him then we can use it to destroy their reputation."

Ruben was just about to take another sip but paused when he heard her proposal. "What would that accomplish? It would only draw more unwanted attention to Lelouch, making Leila even more jumpy."

Milly nodded "I know but it isn't supposed to help us find Lelouch but to destroy the JLF. So Lelouch can assume the position of the wronged party and become the new banner to rally the Japanese." Milly explained smugly but then added "Once he recovers."

Ruben thought it over with another big gulp of Jack Daniels "Hmm that could work, it would certainly set him up to come back with a vengeance. The britannians have been tightlipped about Narita and the JLF have allowed unconfirmed rumors proclaiming them to be the ones to defeat Britannia to exist." He swirled the liquid in his glass

"Britannia has allowed this, so as to not antagonize the JLF while they still have Cornelia and to use it on their own timetable to destabilize the JLF at a key moment. The JLF has risen to such eminence since Narita, that they've practically become synonymous with the Japanese resistance. If they are disgraced then it might crush the backbone of the resistance itself."

Milly was confused "So should I do it or not?" Wasn't lelouch's plan to use the success of the japanese resistance to inspire the european civilians to action? If the resistance was crushed then so was that plan. Well assuming that he still wants to continue after getting betrayed like that. And with Europe already at war, a source of inspiration closer to home would be more effective. He could salvage what loyal men he could and return to the EU to fend of the britannians in pitched battles.

Ruben smiled at her "You should definitely try it and I will back you up with all the formidable resources of the Ashford family. Unless we spin this to our advantage then Lelouch's plans might go up in smoke before he finishes the second stage."

Milly saluted mockingly at her marching orders "I'll destroy the enemy with extreme prejudice general" Though she didn't understand what would go up in smoke and wondered if he was just indulging her.

Her grandfather saluted her back, happy to bring some levity back into the room despite the seriousness of the situation.

But it was only a front to hide their incessant worrying about Lelouch's safety and by extension their own. Though she forced that down with no small amount of shame.

* * *

**Two weeks ago**

**Narita mountain, underneath the rubble of the JLF's base**

**Lelouch pov**

Lelouch slowly opened his eyes and saw the inside of his cockpit and was immensely relieved that it was still intact. Despite him being trapped inside of it like a sardine.

He realized he had lost consciousness after he got hit by a boulder, despite his last minute calculations to find a spot that would end up as a cavity within the wall of debris.

He had probably succeeded since he was still alive and didn't have any significant injuries that he could feel. But that was the question wasn't it, did he still retain feeling in his whole body?

He wiggled his toes, and to his joy, could feel them pressing up against his shoes. Relief flooded his body and he reveled in that victory for a moment before moving on.

He then lifted his arms and immediately recoiled when pain shot through him. He turned his head to look at his right shoulder. There wasn't any obvious bleeding but he could now feel the pain coursing through it, now that he had foolishly moved it.

He gritted his teeth and used his left arm to grope himself for other injuries

He felt up his entire body and it seemed he didn't have any interior bleeding judging from palpitations of his torso but his right shoulder was definitely broken. Probably the collar bone, that one was notorious for breaking easily. But overall he was in good shape considering a mountain fell on him. Luckily the cockpit was designed to crash land if need be without a parachute after a emergency ejection. Its design must have absorbed most of the impact for him. Only some bruised ribs from the seatbelts and a broken collarbone. Well he hoped, he could have been unconcious for days and not even know it.

Not even his sense of hunger was reliable cause a lack of appetite went hand in hand with sickness.

He sighed as he sat up straight despite the pain and reached into the compartment above his head.

He grabbed his satellite phone and tried to call Leila but all he got was nothing, not even static. It didn't take him long to realize that he couldn't see the sky. And the rule of thumb with satellite phones was that if you couldn't see the sky then you'd get a bad signal to no signal. And that was when you were in buildings or even in forests and at the bottom of a valley. And here he was under millions of tons of solid rock fiddling with a satellite phone. That he even attempted it made him wonder if he had sustained a concussion.

The satellite phone slipped from his hand and clattered onto the floor.

He was stuck here…

He momentarily stopped breathing with the realization that he could do just that if he didn't get dug out soon.

"I suppose it's fitting that I die by being buried alive considering I sent countless others to their deaths in a similar manner." chuckled Lelouch. Though his attempt at gallows humor didn't help him see a silver lining to this situation at all.

Though he did remember a solution.

Every knightmare was built with a small compartment for a emergency aid kit and rations. He however had made it a policy to also include a small tool kit with a screwdriver, wrench, crowbar and power drill with a battery in the compartment.

It was a precaution for in case the cockpit malfunctioned after crash landing, and had to be opened manually from the inside.

In his case though he had no intention of prying open the cockpit, instead his target was the apparatus underneath his seat. He had studied knightmare blueprints for years, and even came up with his own creation which he had to scrap due to issues of practicality.

But thanks to that he knew that the ejection system used a combination of liquid rocket fuel and liquid oxygen to create enough thrust to safely carry the pilot out of harm's way.

He had deactivated the auto ejection system at the last minute to prevent himself from being slammed into the rocks but he now had another use for it.

He used the tools at his disposal and slowly dissembled the chair and the ejection system underneath. So he could reroute the oxygen injector.

"There, now I should have enough oxygen to breath until someone finds me." said Lelouch as he slumped down the side of his cockpit.

He then rearranged some parts, so he could at least sit on the chair again. He then reached into the medical kit and grabbed a sleeping pill.

The body consumed more oxygen when it moved, so sleep was the best defense again oxygen deprivation for now.

He popped them in his mouth and washed it down with some canned soup.

* * *

Lelouch awoke to the sound of men yelling and heavy machinery moving in the distance.

It seemed like Britannia had gotten its act together quickly and it would only take a few hours more for him to be rescued. He popped another pill though to pass the time.

* * *

Lelouch was wrong, it took days though it was hard to tell inside the darkness of his cockpit. He put his feet up on the computer interface while he relaxed some more.

But still, he could practically feel the boulders being removed from on top of his knightmare. And then came the excited scream that they had found another frame.

Lelouch smiled he hadn't been sure if they would have continued searching after all the glasgows had been accounted for.

As soon as his cockpit was opened by some hydraulic device he activated his geass.

"You will recognize me as Richard Reed, a Britannian knightmare pilot whose paperwork got lost. You will forge all necessary paperwork for me or tell me who I need to speak with to get It done. You will also escort me to a hospital before your superiors start asking questions."

The man nodded numbly for a second before he started giving orders to other rescue workers.

Lelouch geassed them with similar orders as they came and extracted him from his steel and rock prison. It didn't take long before he was loaded into an ambulance and driven off to a nearby hospital to have his shoulder looked at.


	31. The way the cookie crumbles

**Chapter Thirty One The way the cookie crumbles**

**The day after the collapse **

**Narita mountain Britannian base camp. **

**Leila pov**

She drove a jeep onto the grounds which she had spray painted to pass off as military grade. She had also picked up a stolen uniform from a Black Knight's supply depot that originated from a uniform supplier for the Britannian military.

This meant her uniform was legitimate and not some cheap prop that wouldn't pass a simple eyeball test. And thanks to it she could assume any rank she damn well pleased, though she kept it modest.

"Sergeant Williamson reporting to help out with the clean up." She reported when she was halted by a guard.

The guard looked at her with disinterest before he told her to report to the command center for an assignment. He'd barely glanced at the forged paperwork she'd obsessed over all night. It seemed even a catastrophe of this level couldn't win against the unending drudgery of guard duty.

She nodded in confirmation and moved towards the G1 base but changed directions as soon as the guard lost direct line of sight of her.

Instead she moved over to the tents where lists and pictures of the deceased had been hanged.

Once she was there, she wasn't bothered by anyone. They all assumed she was looking for confirmation or to cross a name of the list or to write one down. The same as everyone else.

She thanked their single-minded focus while she perused the pictures for Lelouch's face. She knew it was foolish to hope that nobles wouldn't recognize Lelouch even after all these years. But it was still better than trying to figure out which name, if any, was fake among hundreds of others.

She could only thank the gods that Lelouch's scheme to create a landslide had missed the small town at the mountain's base. The dozens if not hundreds of extra names would have made this impossible.

She checked every picture twice but no Lelouch, which was a blessing she supposed. She then moved on to the lists, but again found nothing interesting but she kept at it.

She cross-checked every name on the list of survivors with those missing, trying to find one who wasn't reported missing.

It was boring and painstakingly dull work, despite the constant threat of discovery and subsequent execution.

In the end she had to call it a day and come back tomorrow resigning herself to the fact that Lelouch hadn't been found yet.

* * *

**Hotel room **

**Kallen pov **

She slammed her cell phone shut when she heard the bastard's refusal to keep business as usual. The damn JLF were encroaching on her territory and muscling her men into switching over to their side.

"I take it, the pizzeria was out of pepperoni." said CC from the bed behind her.

Kallen turned her head to look at her and wondered once again why her leader trusted this woman so much that he allowed her to live in the same building as him. Though granted it was a hotel and they had separate rooms but still.

"Do I look like a glutton?" Kallen asked scathingly while giving a pointed look towards cheese kun. Something that took over thirty orders of pizza to gather enough stamps to exchange for the useless toy. And CC didn't have just one, no she had several, meaning she practically lived off pizza.

"Well, you do have a decent amount of fat. You just distribute it better than me." retorted CC

It took a second for Kallen to grasp her meaning but when she did. She had to suppress the impulse to cover her chest to avoid proving CC's point.

"Shouldn't you be more worried?" Kallen asked to change the subject and because she was genuinely curious.

"No my deal with Zero is entirely unrelated with the Black Knights' success. He could rule the world or live in obscurity and I couldn't care less."

Kallen cocked her head to the side as she pondered what Zero could possibly do for her that didn't involve the Black Knights. Was it something related to his persona before he became Zero or something personal?

She ignored it for now "Well at least I won't have to worry about your loyalty right?" she asked jokingly though she carefully observed her reaction.

For all the good that did her, CC didn't even move a facial muscle. She just squeezed cheese kun tighter and said "Zero and I are accomplices, I will ensure he stays alive until he can fulfill his end of the bargain."

Kallen had no clue what she was on about but didn't pry either. She was getting used to her leader having secrets and mysterious people surrounding him.

She looked up when another example walked through the door.

"Welcome back Q2" said Kallen to the blond haired commander, she still hadn't found out her name.

Q2 greeted her before she plopped down on the bed and stole a slice of pizza from CC despite her protests.

"So any good news?" asked Kallen bluntly, unable to keep her curiosity about her leader's fate at bay any longer.

Q2 sighed "I checked all the lists but he isn't listed and there isn't a picture of him on file either. I think they haven't found him yet because he was so deep inside the base."

Kallen heard the faulty assumption in her logic. But decided not to point out that the britannians could simply keep quiet about them finding Zero until they were ready to execute him on cable TV. She was sure she didn't need to. This was just their best hope and it was better than nothing."

Q2 carelessly took off her coat and threw it over a chair in a single motion "But his oxygen supply is running out by the second and he might choke to death before we find him."

The assumption that he was still alive went unsaid. A increasingly flimsy assumption. It was enough to turn their logic into a belief, no a desperate desire for him to live.

Kallen gulped and felt even more powerless. Despite her Britannian looks she couldn't infiltrate the camp to search as well because she wasn't used to military hierarchy. She would stick out like a sore thumb.

She then noticed that Q2 was giving her a pointed look "What!" She asked defensively.

"You know that I'm European don't you?" Q2 asked tentatively.

Kallen nodded unsure where she was going with this "Yeah Zero said we would train with Europeans, so I figured he had a high ranking European friend who helped him pull the strings. When you joined us as a commander it wasn't hard to figure out you were European."

Q2 nodded "He convinced me to join him a year ago after a chance encounter in a hospital."

Kallen frowned at the mention of a hospital "Did he get admitted for a long term illness?" She asked in concern.

Q2 shook her head "No he was visiting his comatose sister while I was checking up on a subordinate."

"Oh" said Kallen awkwardly and then hesitantly asked "How did,.. She,.. Become..?"

Q2 finished her question for her "Comatose," Kallen nodded

"She sustained head trauma in Japan during the first invasion" Q2 hesitated for a moment before she added "A Japanese did it."

Kallen's eyes widened in surprise at the revelation.

She gasped "But…" She trailed off unable to put her misgivings into words.

She had lost her brother to the Britannians and she hated them with a passion and if Zero was anything like her, then he would too! But he would want to burn Japan down to the ground or what remained of it.

"But why is he fighting the Empire rather than Japan?" Q2 finished for her again and yet again Kallen could only nod numbly.

Was she so predicable or that transparent that Q2 could read her like a book?

"The order of events I suppose, he was nearly killed by Britannia first and the Japanese were just a by-product of it."

Kallen shuddered at the thought of the sheer destruction Zero could have inflicted on Britannia's behalf if he wasn't screwed over by them first. A simple roll of the dice had decided everything for her and still could.

"Does he resent us Japanese?" She asked fearfully. For once her characteristic pride in being Japanese was absent in her voice.

There was a pregnant pause as Q2 thought over the question "I don't know." She finally answered "He keeps his plans and feelings close to his vest but I believe the destruction of Britannia is his true goal. But he may just throw away Japan as a pawn to achieve it." Q2 didn't look directly at her but observed her closely from the corner of her eyes. So did C.C.

Kallen didn't notice though. She just wanted to scream that the Japanese weren't expendable pawns. But her words felt hollow before she even uttered them.

She wouldn't care how many brits had to die to avenge her brother, even if it meant embracing her noble title and sending them to their deaths under false pretenses.

How could she expect her leader to follow standards she herself couldn't keep.

"Why are you telling me this?" She choked out, in desperation for something to make sense of it all.

"To lay a foundation." Q2 answered simply

Kallen narrowed her eyes at the cryptic answer "A foundation for what?"

CC finally spoke up "To learn that Zero isn't Japanese but European."

Kallen scoffed "You think I haven't realized he isn't Japanese by now?"

Seeing their puzzled looks she explained "Sayoko said from the start he operated somewhere else, before coming to Japan."

Q2 shrugged " I wasn't there during the recruitment so I didn't know. I figured I should tell you, so you don't freak out during the operation to rescue him."

Kallen felt insulted "I wouldn't have turned my back on Zero even if he was a Britannian prince!" She said with bluster. Randomly picking the most outrageous thing she could think off.

She didn't miss the small smile tugging on C.C's lips or the frown on Q2 "You're kidding me!"

She turned towards the wall and smashed her fist right through the plaster "I pledged my loyalty to a fucking prince!" She raged before pulling her fist out to inspect the damage. The crumbling exit hole was satisfying to look at. Even better was the dim awareness that Zero would have to foot the bill for the repairs. She only regretted it when the natural painkillers in her body wore off en she realized she might have broken one of her fingers. Judging by the pain she hadn't, it still hurt like a bitch though. But not enough she couldn't ignore it.

"If you wish to leave us I'll understand. We'll simply move to another hotel and never bother you again." Q2 said quickly after her display of anger.

Kallen's eyes widened yet again and she immediately put her hands up in a gesture to wait "No I didn't mean that!" She said quickly

But what did she mean?

"So you're still loyal to Zero even if he is a prince?" pressed Q2

Kallen felt conflicted, everything in her belief system screamed at her to say no but her heart said yes.

She took a few steps back and looked at her feet as she weighed her convictions against one another. A year ago her world had been black and white, the Japanese were good and the Britannians evil.

But now her Japanese friends hung her out to dry while the JLF tried to destroy everything she had built. But her leader the symbol of hope she had clung to, was actually a Britannian.

She could no longer just give people neat little labels and treat them as such. No she had to judge them separately on their own merits.

She wasn't about to make friends with her racist classmates or her stepmother. But she wasn't going to forgive Ohgi and the others just like that either.

They had abandoned Zero without even checking to make sure he was dead.

No she had made her choice and the essence of the man didn't change just because he wore a different skin. Wasn't that what she had been fighting for all along?

A world without racism.

But instead she had become a racist herself, only against Britannians.

She felt ashamed for her simplistic beliefs and nodded "Yeah I believe in Zero even if he's a prince. He's still the man I chose to put my trust in, nothing has changed that."

She said the words but wasn't sure she meant them yet. She would have to meet Zero face to face to be sure, and then she would decide for the last time. She promised herself that whatever happened. She would never turn her back on him ever again.

* * *

**Leila pov**

It took her two weeks and several close calls when people questioned her. Forcing her to do some actual work on the side to alleviate suspicion.

But her persistence paid off when she noticed one Richard Reed had been transferred to a local hospital despite there being no mention of him on the knightmare pilot roster.

She had immediately rushed over to the hospital to discover he had been operated on for a shattered shoulder.

"I'm sorry lieutenant but your knight has been transferred to another hospital right after his surgery." replied to nurse to her inquiry.

"What! But what about post op care?" She asked in confusion

The nurse double-checked her records "I'm sorry but it says here he was transferred on the chief of surgery's orders."

Leila asked for the hospital he was transferred to and checked there as well but there was no mention of any Richard Reed ever arriving there, or them even being notified of him being transferred to them.

Leila's head was spinning, did that mean he was still at the last hospital under a new false name or in another hospital altogether. She demanded a copy of all recent transfers of the hospital she was in, and checked them all personally to make sure they weren't Lelouch.

She then went back and checked every room in the last hospital against the protests of the hospital staff. She had to invoke military authority once or twice, which was quite risky. If even one nurse called the military to check her story or complain then the military police would be after her.

She gritted her teeth "Where the hell are you Lelouch!"

It was mind-boggling how someone who was supposedly either unconscious or on morphine could take so many precautions to avoid anyone finding him.

The amount of forethought and bribes necessary to grease the wheels so to speak was staggering.

Just as she was considering calling in the Euro Black Knights who were formerly known as her W-0 unit to canvass all the hospitals for her, while using a synthetic mask to get around the 'No elevens' policy, her cell phone rang.

"Hello this is Q2" She answered without looking at the caller id

"A little bird told me, you were looking for me." said the speaker who sounded remarkably like..

"Lelouch is that you?" asked Leila, barely believing her own ears. After all the searching and inquiries that came up empty, he just drops in out of thin air.

"The very same and I'm staying at the Sacred Heart hospital in the coma ward. I bribed someone to put me here because no one pays attention to the plants in here." He said sounding very calm and in control. Not at all like someone who had a close brush with death or in pain or on drugs for that matter. He didn't even sound slightly disoriented and out of touch from just waking up. Meaning he hadn't called her on purpose until he was feeling better or her questions got too many other people asking questions.

The bastard…

Leila nodded at the logic though and put aside any anger she felt for him not calling her sooner. There would be plenty of time and opportunity to reel him out and get her revenge. "I'll be there in a hour and do you mind if I bring Q1 and C.C.?" She was pretty sure asking C.C to watch over him would be a fine start to getting even.

"C.C. can come but Q1 might have problems with my identity." Lelouch hedged

Leila smiled hesitantly despite being justified to demand a apology from him. She had still taken a huge risk with one of his greatest assets without his approval. "I already broke the news when I thought I would find you unconscious and needed to move you ourselves. She took it well, though you might need to reaffirm her place in the world yourself."

She held her breath for a moment while pondering if she should tell him she also pulled at Q1's heartstrings by bringing up his sister. It subconsciously made him more sympathetic but Lelouch probably wouldn't appreciate it. She decided to tell him later.

There was a long silence in the air that seemed to stretch forever "I see." said Lelouch finally. It didn't sound overly enthusiastic. More like reluctant acceptance and hidden resentment.

Leila worried she might have overstepped, and wondered how she could apologize.

But before she could even think of how to word it without rubbing more salt in the wounds he fired off a command. "Bring her along, but make sure she's not armed and keep a close eye on her."

Leila was surprised "You seriously think she might kill you?"

"She has a irrational hatred towards britannians, so until I can judge her myself. I'm not willing to take any chances."

She seriously doubted it. When Lelouch comforted Q1 he made himself her whole world instead of revenge. She'd might've done something rash if it came out at any other time. But with Lelouch nearly dying, her friends betraying her, her feeling cornered by the JLF, the sympathy inducing comatose little sister and her already clinging onto him for her own sanity made it pretty obvious what her answer was going to be.

Not to mention that it was broken to her gently in a low pressure situation where she didn't have to make up her mind on the spot. If it had been a life or death situation where every second mattered then she would probably freeze up or side against him. But none of that happened, instead all the momentum was in his favor. It couldn't be a better time even if he planned it.

Leila sighed. It didn't stop him from being paranoid. "Very well, we'll be there soon."

* * *

**Sacred heart hospital coma ward**

**Sayoko pov**

She looked up when another nurse walked past Lelouch's room, but she didn't enter. So she returned her attention to her medical book.

She had spent a large part of her life in a hospital guarding Nunnaly, and to convincingly perform her role as undercover nurse, she had actually gone to nursing school.

The profession agreed with her and soothed her conscious, whenever she slipped into assassin mode.

Lelouch hadn't asked her to kill anyone yet, but she knew it was only a matter of time. She had heard him mumbling in his sleep about the things he wanted to do to the JLF.

She didn't blame him and wanted to execute those ideas as soon as possible. But she had to wait for her master to recover first. And to do so, she had to make sure he got plenty of peace and quiet, and none of the worries the Black Knights would bring with them. Thus she was opposed to him calling Leila when he heard she was snooping around.

Though she supposed letting her flounder around for any longer would attract too much attention to the name Richard Reed.

* * *

**Sacred heart Hospital, coma ward **

**Kallen pov**

Kallen stared apprehensively at the door. She knew it was foolish, but she felt nervous finally coming face to face with him.

It made it real, tangible and decisive.

He would judge her and she would judge him.

If either one of them didn't like what they saw then this could be the last time they ever saw each other. She would have liked to stay in touch, but her leader was a no-nonsense kind of person. So he wouldn't have much time for her, unless she was his ace pilot.

She wasn't an idiot, she knew he was manipulative and ignored replaceable assets. If she wanted to partner with him, then she would have to prove herself every day for the rest of her life to him.

She took a deep breath and opened the door, while ignoring the impatient and fed up look Q2 and CC had.

She looked at the bed and saw a twenty something raven haired boy lying on the bed with an oversized cast on his right arm.

He was definitely good looking but the thing that struck her the most was his sharp eyes observing her every movement. It was like she was being studied under a microscope or that he was a predator looking for a weakness.

She had a similar look when she was fighting inside her knightmare. She went into a trance were only cold logic and instinct remained to destroy her enemy.

Was that what she was now to him, an enemy?

But then his eyes softened and a small smile crept onto his face "Hey Kallen, sorry didn't recognize you there for a second. These drugs muddle my thoughts" He said disarmingly while gesturing towards the morphine drip.

She felt relief, but the disconcerting feeling of being his enemy still haunted her. It felt wrong.

"Don't worry about it Zero." She replied and smiled back at him.

She hesitantly sat in the chair next to his bed while C.C. took a seat in the corner and Q2 hovered behind her.

Her mouth felt dry as she looked at him, wondering what to say next.

"So I hear some of our friends joined the JLF." opened Zero casually while he placed his book on his nightstand. She didn't' recognize the title but it had something to do with field medicine.

She flinched slightly at the reminder that the Black Knights had abandoned him and he had to fend for himself.

But Zero didn't sound accusatory, he just said it matter of factly. Like he didn't expect any better from them. It hurt her more than she could say, that he thought that little of them, and she desperately wanted to prove him wrong. Or at least that she was better than them.

She fidgeted in her seat while she thought of a response "Not all of them, some have stayed loyal and now report directly to me. But it's mostly our economic branch. Though the ones from the military branch that did stay were our most skilled members." She silently cursed herself for not memorizing any hard numbers. She felt like a idiot guessing at an answer rather than confidently reporting it.

Zero didn't look at her but instead traded a look with Q2. She could see it through the reflection on the vase on his nightstand.

Q2 nodded and mouthed something at him. Kallen didn't know what the hidden message was, but it didn't take a genius to figure out Q2 had more to do with those skilled members staying than her.

Kallen bit her bottom lip while she looked at the charming face of her leader that seemed so familiar.

Zero sighed "Well I suppose that is the best I could have hoped for. Those who left can be replaced and I think I can get some support from Kyoto to replace any losses from our economic branch. We'll only suffer a minor setback in our operations."

CC smirked "They try to kill you and you turn the other cheek?

C.C got up and placed her hands on Lelouch's feet beneath the blanket. "I had no idea you were such a good Christian or maybe you're just a masochist? " She twisted his foot slightly prompting a grimace from Lelouch "Should I buy some toys for you, so we can satisfy your urges privately?"

Kallen's face flushed red at the innuendo and looked at Zero for a denial that he liked those kinds of things. She was relieved to see, he too was flushing red and immediately denied it. The attempted kick to C.C's face was a sight for sore eyes.

"I think the lady doth protest too much" returned CC with a wider smirk.

Zero frowned "Shut up witch! Or should I bring up the extra charges put on your hotel bill?"

That threat seemed to shut CC up for the moment, but Kallen had no clue what could force the shameless girl to keep her tongue.

"Anyways." spoke up Q2 "Does that mean we'll resume normal operations as soon as possible?"

Zero eagerly grabbed onto the change of subjects "No we won't, Sayoko has informed me that the JLF face a imminent PR nightmare. So we'll let that blow up in their faces first before I'll reveal my survival."

Kallen nodded at the logic though it seemed a bit cold. But it was nowhere near as heartless as trying to kill Zero when he wouldn't hand over princess Cornelia, so the JLF had it coming.

"I heard a report on the news before we left that the Europeans are making some noise about the sketchy events around Narita. It didn't say anything substantive just some sharp questions that are stirring the pot." added Q2

Zero nodded "Yes those are some friends of mine in the EU who were trying to help when I lost contact with them. I'm afraid I completely forgot about them in my drug haze and they worried. The media campaign was something for them to keep busy while they waited for news."

The fact that Zero had finally told her something that wasn't need to know wasn't lost on Kallen. She wondered if it was because she had cut all ties with her former friends. They had been optional from the start according to Sayoko but did they also hold her back?

Divided loyalties summed the problem up nicely, but did this mean Zero didn't doubt her anymore?

"You certainly like your media campaigns though this time you at least refrained from throwing a temper tantrum on TV." remarked CC

Kallen ignored Zero's retort in favor of the realization that Zero wasn't just any prince but THE PRINCE!

The one who had saved her country before she even understood what was going on. Her idol, though she had forgotten him over time and assumed he died.

He had arisen back from the dead to liberate Japan once more. "You're Lelouch!" She choked out.

Zero just quirked an eyebrow "Did It take you that long to figure it out Kallen, I must admit I'm disappointed" He said with a smug smirk.

Kallen felt like defending herself, but she herself had to admit, it was pretty damn obvious in hindsight. She just never expected to meet a celebrity, so she had never considered it.

"Sorry, I just forgot." She admitted sheepishly

Zero or rather Lelouch laughed good naturedly "You'd think people would remember the savior of their country for longer than ten years."

C.C. and Q2 smiled at Lelouch's comment and Kallen joined in. "Hey you don't look like a little brat anymore, so forgive me, if I don't put two and two together instantly."

"True he was a lot cuter when he was ten." added C.C. "And he could get away with having no muscles."

They all cracked smiles at that, even a self deprecating one from Lelouch. Though he grumbled back good naturedly anyway.

Kallen finally relaxed with the knowledge that she had no more reservations about her leader and he seemed to trust her as well.

* * *

**Author note **

I still have 36k more in drafts but I'm unsure about them. Primarily because some reviewers want this fic to go back to the EU and this is a perfect departure point. I didn't think of it at the time though and instead had him go to china. Nothing significant happens there other than him manipulating a few things that put him in charge of the invasion of Kyushu.

Mainly because I was annoyed that he teamed up with Suzaku to stop the Chinese invasion in canon. Not just because I dislike Suzaku but also from a military standpoint. He literally saved the greatest thorn in his side and wiped out a third party that could have made his job a lot easier. He violated the saying 'the enemy of my enemy is my friend'.

I get that it was a win from a media standpoint but that doesn't make up for it. He barely had the forces to overwhelm the britannians in the final episode even with every resistance group joining up. The Chinese invasion could have softened them up for him.

So yeah, I made a very complicated and elaborate battle plan that might completely misfire because no one knows what is going on. It relies a lot on constant maneuvers and taking advantage of static defenses. I've even thought about making a map like those pictograms you see on youtube comments. But I honestly don't have the patience for it. Or skill.

I still like it though and I'm somewhat committed to what I have already written considering it does flow into other things. it goes back to Japan afterwards to finish up with the JLF. And then I intended to go to the EU but that's still a long ways off. Perhaps i can rewrite it so that the EU takes China's place but it'll be a lot of work and annoying because i have to double check to see if things still make sense.

So the question is how many are fed up with reading about Japan?

If enough people are, then I might finally resolve Leila's loyalty issue which forces more focus on the EU. And instead make a battle in Iceland or Greece. I already have some thoughts for that but I preferred them to come up later in the fic. Because the technology level needed to be higher to pull them off convincingly.

Say about Vincent mass produced level for Greece, though for Iceland it doesn't matter as much.

Anyways I'd like some volunteers who wouldn't mind reading through my version of Kyushu and say if they could follow what was going on.


	32. Are you compensating for something?

**Arc Eleven Foreign Influence **

**Chapter 32 Are you compensating for something?**

**Leila**

"So Lelouch what are we going to do next?" asked Leila after Kallen left the room to get something to drink.

Lelouch looked away from the door and at her "Well I need to keep this cast on for another two months for it to heal properly." The doctors had found a broken collarbone, a concussion and two cracked ribs. So Lelouch thanked his lucky stars that he was too out of it, to feel much of it. Whether it was adrenaline, painkillers or shock was a toss up though. "My men have abandoned me for dead and I expect a Britannian counter attack is due any day now. So I think a vacation is in order."

"A vacation!" blurted Leila incredulously. She blinked twice before closing her mouth again.

Lelouch nodded, grinning at her astonishment. "It's the JLF's fifteen minutes in the spot light. I need them to blunder first before I can swoop in and save the day."

Leila slowly nodded at his logic. Though she sometimes wished he would spell things out more. It was basically two kids trying to convince their parent that the other one broke something.

If he revealed their treachery now it would just descend into a squabbling match in the media. The people would believe whomever they wanted to believe as it was his word against theirs. With their current popularity it could go either way or most likely just a controversial dinner topic that faded into obscurity.

He needed the other kid to get caught more so the parents would believe it when he told them about this.

Leila zoned back in to the conversation to hear Lelouch say "So I might as well use the time productively and go to China to scout things out."

It didn't seem she missed much and more importantly he wasn't planning another risky operation that all hinged on princess Cornelia calling in air support. Leila relaxed and mock scolded "That's recon Lelouch not a vacation."

Lelouch shrugged "I prefer to call it overenthusiastic tourism."

Leila glared slightly at him for his poor joke "What do you think is in China anyway?"

Lelouch eyes drifted to the top left of his eye sockets. Leila got the sinking feeling that he was making up this plan as he went along. She wasn't sure if that was better or worse than his meticulously planned schemes.

"They have some of the largest deposits of metals and energy in their soil and a lot of people willing to work for next to nothing." He said tentatively as if he had a feeling of what he wanted but didn't know exactly what it was just yet.

Leila cocked her head to the side "Do you want to build something?"

Lelouch's eyes flashed before he grinned slightly "The thermal spear was a success, so I need to increase its production." He nodded slightly to himself as if it made perfect sense. Which admittedly it really did. Leila mentally drooled at the thought of the penetrative power of the thermal lance. Every formation would get pierced and scattered by it and bunkers would be nothing more than deathtraps in the making. It had the potential to be as tactically overwhelming as the first knightmares. Provided off course that none of her men got a facial of hot slag.

Lelouch slowly scratched his chin "And I want to put the Raikou cannon on their tanks. The mobility problem will be largely solved by that, though it still won't outrun a knightmare."

Leila felt her enthusiasm plummet somewhat when she was reminded of that backyard grown monstrosity. It was quick and dirty and fine in a pinch but something that slow was useless in guerilla tactics beyond a one time use. "I think you need to check your eyes Lelouch. There's no way that thing will fit. And even if it did then it would be more gun than tank. I doubt it would outrun a bicycle let alone a knightmare." it reminded her of horse drawn cannons, utterly useless when not positioned right, before the battle. It was almost more luck than skill that determined their value in battle.

Lelouch shrugged "I'll just make the tank bigger or put it on the Longdan. Besides the JLF's design was a insult to any sane engineer. The thing practically overloaded and broke down after firing only FIVE times in a row. I'm sure my guys can scale it down and make it more efficient."

"That could work." She said thoughtfully though somewhat skeptically before adding "We still have the Raikous from Narita so we can strap them onto some big tanks to run some tests. Maybe get a feel for how to use them in a actual battle where they can _move_." They might be slow as fuck but the principle of the tactics would stay the same. And her men needed to learn how to work with it before she could throw them at the enemy.

Lelouch shook his head "Nah we can just build some new ones, I want to send Kallen with those as a peace offering, to the JLF."

"What!" Leila's eyebrows shot up so high they disappeared beneath her bangs. She opened her mouth to say the instinctual response like 'They tried to kill you!' before regaining herself and refocusing on the important details. "But they think she spurned their offer to join them?" unspoken was 'why would you even want to help them by giving them Kallen?'

Or the unconscious 'why would you risk her?' and even the 'if you would throw her away. Then what about me?…'

Lelouch missed it though, too caught up in his own mind spinning elaborate revenge fantasies. "She never responded and focused more on keeping her organization intact. The JLF won't fault her for that, I think" said Lelouch with some uncertainty slipping into his voice.

Leila glared at him "I won't have you risking her life on a hunch. Besides I already ordered some of the Euro Black Knights to join the JLF for intelligence."

Lelouch smiled at her "Good job Leila." which got a terse nod in acknowledgment

"Now then." mused Lelouch undaunted by her glare "I just need a introduction from Kaguya into the Chinese imperial court, but is it worth the risk?" his stare at his reflection in the window pane made clear what he meant.

Leila frowned at him ignoring her glare but shoved it into her mental drawer labeled Lelouch's faults and ignored it too. Instead she focused on the more immediate problem. "You can't wear that synthetic mask all the time. So someone is bound to see your face eventually. You can't exactly order people not to barge into your room when you're a guest."

Lelouch shrugged "Fair point" He conceded, dropping his half formed plan without blinking. "Oh but before we go, I need to have a chat with some fishermen. So I can drop my next surprise for Britannia on the bottom of the ocean." his grin clearly showed that he had just thought of something much better. He looked at her expectantly, waiting for her to beg him what he meant.

Leila rolled her eyes at his attempt to act mysterious about his next overly convoluted plan. She'd hear about it when it was necessary. These over dramatized hints were annoying and worthless. "Hey Lelouch if you're done." She gave him a flat stare that had him avert his eyes in embarrassment. "I think you'd be better off putting those Raikou cannons on hovercrafts. They're more maneuverable and faster."

Lelouh thought it over for a moment. "Hmm large ones have been used to ship tanks so I know they can carry the weight. But they'd be pretty fragile won't they?"

Leila nodded "Yeah but they're hit and run units so it won't matter. They can pop out between buildings, unleash a salvo and duck back under cover. Or they can shoot in turns leapfrogging the enemy. But most importantly they're traps that adjust to the battlefield. If you think princess Cornelia will let you lead her on a merry chase again then we need to get your head examined while we're here."

Lelouch shrugged to concede the point. A static trap was wishful thinking even in optimistic scenarios. It only worked because the britannians were winning and thus overconfident and eager to pursue.

Pursuing a fleeing enemy while another battle was still being fought was a rookie move that had cost many a battle. Princess Cornelia would have demoted them if they'd lived. "I'll contact some engineers to work on some blueprints. I'll have to ask them about the recoil. A tank or four glasgows can absorb it. But a hovercraft might be blown back even if the rig itself stays intact."

Leila pictured giant hovercrafts skidding across the battlefield like toy cars before slowly coming to a stop or more likely by hitting something. Violently. She sweat dropped at the possible breaking distance needed to fire safely. It would make them useless except on the open plains and then their fragility would kill them. But battles were far too chaotic to line up a empty street for a shot with a enemy bearing down on you.

"Fine I'll admit, it sounded better in my head." She admitted grudgingly. Amphibious attack vehicles with a devastating attack was a wet dream as far as flanking units went.

Lelouch nodded "Perhaps not the most user friendly. But it ties in nicely with the plan I just mentioned." He glanced at her from the corner of his eyes.

Leila rolled her eyes again at the futile attempt to annoy her "Whatever." She wasn't going to let him get a rise out of her to relieve his boredom.

* * *

**Two days later **

**Jeremiah****'****s return**.

Jeremiah stood still just outside of his lord's room to take a deep breath. He then grabbed the door handle as the last one. The last one. He felt like it would almost be the title that would haunt him until he stepped into his grave. Here lies Jeremiah Gottwald 'The Last One'.

The last one to find lady Marianne's body. The last one to be held in confidence by his lord during his youth. And the last one at his side when he nearly died. Always the last one.

Yet again, was he the last to be called by his lord when he called those who were still true to his side. He knew it wasn't a insult but it stung still. His devotion and skill were recognized but he always failed when it mattered most. So it was no wonder he was the last to be called.

He let none of his inner turmoil show however as he entered the room. His lord had enough to deal with, to worry about his petty insecurity issues. No real effort was needed either, the mere sight of his lord in a hospital bed washed away such trifling thoughts.

He hastened to his side to check with his own eyes that he was alright. But his sudden entrance put Sayoko on alert. He could feel the killing intent even if he couldn't see her. He stopped and cursed his carelessness. He didn't want to frighten his lord. No he had to be calm and unwavering. A rock his lord could always rely on, not some scatterbrained fool who rushed into things.

He remembered his courtesies and bowed at the waist. "I have returned to your side my lord." He tried to instill as much reassurance into his voice as possible.

He saw his overly formal introduction amused his lord. His mind was immediately awhirl trying to find the hidden joke. He came up blank and was left standing there grasping at straws and wondering if he should move on to report or if that would be rude.

"Hmm are you saying that everything will be fine now that you're here Jeremiah?"

Jeremiah's eyes widened at his own presumption. The evidence of Narita and the JLF's treachery was still in front of him and he couldn't have stopped it even if he had been there. He'd have been another body in the masses or worse a burden that his lord had to carry.

He would have never left his side like those _Black Knights_. So he would have been right next to him when the ceiling collapsed and the cavity was only big enough for his lord's knightmare. His death would have been glorious but a burden on his lord's conscience. To live at the expense of another isn't a fate to be envied.

"Off course not my lord, I'm just glad to be back." He fumbled with his words.

The smirk widened a bit "Oh, that doesn't fill me with much confidence."

What did he just say? Jeremiah asked himself as he felt increasingly unsure of himself.

He had denied that things would be fine didn't he? Oh god, did he just inadvertently blurt out that he would mean harm to his lord? Or that he was just that incompetent… merely a pathetic parasite clinging to his lord?

A strangled noise came from his throat as he wrestled with the words to proclaim his innocence and reaffirm his devotion. He didn't know what to say but his body acted without him on sheer impulse.

A chuckle released him "Relax Jeremiah, I was just messing with you."

Jeremiah tried to seem relaxed but he didn't truly feel it. Not yet. His lord was betrayed and left for dead. He'd only feel better once the sound of general Katase choking on his own blood featured in his dreams with the satisfying knowledge that it wasn't a mere dream.

"Hey stop that!" shouted Lelouch suddenly and he hit the woman beside him lightly on the shoulder.

Jeremiah's eyes focused on the person he'd only been dimly aware was in the room up until now. Leila Malcal was sitting there, eating his lord's dinner with a mischievous smirk on her face. Granted it was hospital fare but the point remained valid.

She'd stolen his lord's pudding and was audaciously rubbing it in his face. He felt like reprimanding her until he saw the smile on his lord's face that mirrored hers.

He realized it was a game and he shouldn't spoil it. So he stood there quietly waiting his turn while he fondly reminisced about his own little sister. It was good to see his lord acting his age for once.

Leila tried to fend him off and the spoon covered in pudding somehow smeared his face. His lord didn't wipe it off right away though. Instead he tried to lick it by sticking his tongue out, futilely trying to extend it just enough to reach it.

Wordlessly, Leila reached over and wiped it off with a finger and then sucked it off. There was a brief silence before it was broken by a single word "Mine"

Lelouch laughed and resumed his assault to reclaim his lost pudding. Leila held it just out of his reach while sneaking in bites in between. While Lelouch tried to pull her closer to him. He was at a disadvantage though with only one arm and poor leverage.

Jeremiah was somewhat worried about how this affected his shoulder's recovery but Sayoko didn't interrupt so he guessed it was fine.

It went on like this for some time until Lelouch suddenly pushed Leila away just as she was about to take another bite, while still holding on to her. The sudden direction shift destroyed her balance and allowed Lelouch to finally pull her forward.

She fell down on top of him. She slowly pushed herself up, being mindful not to put pressure on his still cracked ribs. She looked at him with uncertainty while Jeremiah struggled to stay in place.

His lord had done it on purpose and not uttered a single cry of pain. If he was willing to suffer so much then who was he to ruin his plan.

The two stared at each other for a moment before Lelouch gently grabbed her chin to guide it to him. Leila clearly expected to be kissed and closed her eyes in preparation. Jeremiah couldn't help but smile at it.

Lelouch then stuck out his tongue as far as it would go and made it as wide as possible. Before he licked her face in one giant exaggerated movement.

Leila opened her eyes and blinked at him. Lelouch smirked at her confusion and said "Mine"

Leila touched her cheek and Jeremiah faintly remembered there being pudding on it after the spoon grazed it during her fall. She wasn't to be outdone though and leaned over and whispered something into his ear.

Jeremiah had no clue what it was but it was apparently surprising to his lord. The eyes shifted a few times from himself to Leila and back again. Before he spoke up "Jeremiah could you please go to my hotel and pick up some spare clothes for me."

Jeremiah nodded and left with a knowing smile. He closed the door behind him and was about to set off before he remembered that he didn't actually know the directions to the hotel. He struggled with whether he should go back in and ask and risk looking a fool. Or find out on his own and risk taking too long.

Well, he thought, his lord might not mind the latter for once. That is, until he heard Lelouch speak up from behind the door. "Are you sure we were making him uncomfortable? He seemed fine to me."

Leila replied "Don't you get uncomfortable and look away when couples get mushy with each other. And he couldn't just leave like normal people until you told him to leave."

"I guess" replied Lelouch uncertainly but after a moment of silence it returned more confident "So mushy stuff huh?"

Jeremiah didn't hear the rest as he was already on his way to do as he was told. Though he couldn't help but feel happy that even his petty feelings were given such consideration.

* * *

**Author note.**

I don't apologize for being over three months late.

I've been delayed by basically every problem imaginable. I've been busy doing research, playing other games that caught my interest, reading other people's fanfics, got writers block, wrote new content, didn't feel like editing, didn't feel like reading my own story, loathed my own story, got fed up with numerous inconsistencies, and doing research on another story that hasn't got off the ground either. And last but not least I was in quite a bit of pain cause of a near root canal.

I have written only a small amount of new content, barely did any editing and still haven't resolved my inconsistencies. I tried, i failed, i gave up.

It's gonna be Kyushu cause frankly even trying to add a european subplot felt like playing dominos where you randomly stole a few pieces and tried to space them wider to make up for it. But then realized it didn't work and couldn't remember all the places where they were spaced too far apart. And then you had to recheck every effing piece.

Also a shout out to my sister if she has finally gotten around to reading my story. Please repeat the following phrase to me 'Elon Musk is my hero' in a fan girlish voice

If you do it before September begins then I'll buy you those brain coasters for your birthday. If not then i'll be grumpy cause i checked my e mail: i sent you the link on 16-7 in 2014 and 22-4 in 2015.


	33. Lies unsheathed

**Chapter Thirty three: Lies unsheathed**

**Suzaku, JLF headquarters, during princess Cornelia's 'rescue attempt**'.

Suzaku twiddled his thumbs while he waited for the operation to start. He didn't need to glance at his watch because he just did it five minutes ago. He did it anyway.

Anything to keep his mind of his friends. Friends he might have to kill in just half an hour.

He had tried to get them to switch shifts but they had brushed him off. And he couldn't push too much or they would get suspicious. He just hoped they would forgive him after he explained his reasons. He sighed, even to him that seemed hollow.

He went for a walk to clear his mind but also to slowly move closer to his starting point. As he walked he couldn't help but wonder how his actions would affect every person he saw.

It didn't take much imagination to see their dead faces cursing him from beyond the grave. He had seen plenty of corpses to base it on.

Explosions that ripped off limbs, crumbling buildings crushing them to paste and friendly faces riddled with bullet holes. He saw every variation as he returned friendly greetings.

"Why the glum face Kururugi?" asked captain Chiba, the officer in charge of the Black Knights after he had walked past her.

He turned quickly and tried to wipe all worry off his face "It's nothing, just the usual anxiety about falling behind on my medical bills." Suzaku lied with more ease than he was comfortable with. He remembered a time when he admonished Lelouch for lying with the truth. But at least his friend still used some semblance of the truth. He however just used bold and blunt lies.

Chiba didn't give him a look of concern but he didn't expect her to either. She had built an image as being as tough as nails to win some respect among her colleagues. If she started mothering him than she might lose that.

"You should talk to my recruits, they have a lot of contacts with doctors, lawyers and financial managers. They should be able to take over your treatment and get those debt collectors off your case." She suggested. Though it almost felt like a veiled order.

Suzaku nodded at the wisdom, but he didn't want to take her up on her offer/order. Mostly because he had already paid those bills by selling out his and her comrades. And second because he didn't want to implicate those hardworking Japanese with these terrorists.

He couldn't deny they were providing services to the wrong people but they couldn't be picky and everyone deserved health care. The Japanese people would still need them, so he hoped they would get scared off when the JLF got attacked.

It was a slim hope but he hoped nonetheless.

"I'll do it tomorrow, I want to have a rematch with Akito first." He gave her an easy going smile and he pretended he just wanted to get his mind off things with some friendly competition.

Chiba bought it and moved on.

Suzaku continued on his way to the hangar and hoped he didn't actually see Akito there. The certifiably insane knightmare pilot was highly skilled and seemed homicidal on the best of days.

He couldn't cover the retreat and duel Akito at the same time.

He entered the hangar and immediately spotted his target the Guren Mark Two. It wasn't difficult, the blood red paint job made it easy to spot among the drab camouflage colors.

The Guren however wasn't supposed to be stealthy, it was meant to be seen. It wanted to be burned into the minds of the enemy, to create a myth of invincibility and undermine morale. It wanted to be called the Red Death.

Suzaku scowled at the weapon that even pioneered a new fighting style just to terrorize people more, by cooking them alive inside their knightmare.

He had stood near the Guren during a test of its primary weapon's effectiveness. And when the radiant wave surger activated, he could feel his skin burning. He had desperately tried to get away, and felt some pity for the dummy that got melted. Worse was that the surger also destroyed the ejection system, leaving only a painfully drawn out death for the pilot.

But his superiors had commanded him to steal and pilot it, so that would be what he was going to do.

* * *

**Akito **

He absentmindedly texted Leila the latest batch of names. It was boring and frustrating work but orders were orders. It still beat skulking around in China setting up factories though.

He pressed send and sighed in relief. That was the last of the names that were present during Narita. Leila had been rather insistent on knowing every last person even remotely responsible for the collapse of the mountain, or was that Zero?

It didn't matter. He could finally relax and take his time to text the recruits. There was no rush behind those and he doubted Leila would even read them. He hadn't even gotten a response when he told her of the JLF's plan to ransom princess Cornelia other than a 'good work Akito'.

But he had no choice. He stretched his fingers to get rid of the cramps from texting like a vapid school girl. As he took a break he spotted Kururugi Suzaku enter the hangar bay.

His eyes involuntarily tracked his movements. He was about to dismiss him when he spotted him getting into the Guren. He was surprised that he was allowed, considering how much the upper ranks hated him. Though his simulation scores definitely warranted it. They were even higher than his.

With a sigh he reluctantly flipped his phone open again and started to text again. Leila had better appreciate this.

* * *

**Princess Cornelia**

Cornelia exhaled as she lunged forward as far as possible and held it for five seconds. She then lunged again to stretch her other leg. The tension in her thighs kept her mind somewhat distracted as she anxiously awaited some signal. A sign of a surgical strike or even a full out assault.

General Katase wasn't in a chatty mood when he told her the deal with Schneizel had been brokered. Only a time and a day. She suspected he'd already realized he'd gotten shafted during the negotiations. He must have been too embarrassed to mention it, let alone brag.

All she knew was that a special ops squad was supposed to sneak in and get her but her brother was practically given the keys to the kingdom. She expected some kind of double cross from him. So the idea of things turning into an all-out battle wasn't far from her thoughts.

She just hoped the JLF would remember to shoot to miss until she got clear. But she suspected their aim would miraculously improve if her brother betrayed them. So she couldn't be sloppy. She would get out of here with the precision and military efficiency she demanded every day from her troops.

She lunged again to stay limber and mentally alert.

* * *

**Suzaku**

**JLF knightmare hangar bay**

Koyabashi looked up when Suzaku approached him. "Hey Suzaku, I thought you had the day off."

Suzaku scratched the back of his neck "Yeah but I was hoping to take the experimental unit out for a test drive."

Koyabashi laughed "I know how you feel." He said with a knowing smile "I felt the same thing when I first drove a tank. The sheer power at your disposal feels exhilarating." Then his face turned serious "But I'm afraid I have orders not to let anyone but the Holy Swords and Tohdoh touch it."

"Oh come on, it's not like I'll damage it or anything. I just want to sit in the cockpit for a while." Suzaku tried a different track when Koyabashi didn't budge "Heck, it might come in useful later on. You know my simulator scores, I might just have to pilot the Guren myself when we come under sudden attack."

That did make Koyabashi think twice, Suzaku was unsure if he should push his luck or just wait it out.

He added as casually as possible "I hear my score is almost as high as Tohdoh's" it wasn't. It was higher. But if he said that then he would just look like a braggart.

Koyabashi was pensive for a while longer before he caved "Fine, fine, here's the key." He handed him the usb stick with an indulgent smile "Make sure you don't even adjust the seat or I'll make your life a living hell, you hear me."

Suzaku nodded meekly though inwardly he was triumphant that he got the Guren's key without having to resort to force. Sure he felt himself getting dirtier on the inside; but it was still better than having to hit his friend over the head or god forbid kill him.

He got into the cockpit awkwardly. He wasn't used to the motorcycle style seat. He wondered what the design feature was supposed to do.

"Why isn't there a normal seat in here?" He asked Koyabashi to keep up the ruse and because he was genuinely interested.

But he was too distracted to hear the answer when he read off the interface that the machinegun on the left arm didn't have any ammo. But at least he still had the fork knife and the radiant wave surger though he didn't want to use it.

He stared for a while at the display to familiarize himself with the controls but all too soon he could hear Koyabashi calling out to him that enough was enough. He glanced at his watch and knew it was now or never.

He took a deep breath while looking at his energy levels before he turned around and grabbed the nearest knightmare and slashed it with his fork knife.

Koyabashi immediately started yelling at him but he ignored him while he pushed the gas pedal down and repeatedly slashed every knightmare standing in a neat row. He kept the fork knife horizontal as he pulled it through the frames as he kept on accelerating not bothering to make individual slashes. He only did minor damage this way and his fork knife glanced of a few and only caused them to fall over. He however, managed to hit the energy filler of a lot of knightmares making them either useless or blow up in a dazzling display of fireworks.

It didn't take long before others started screaming and organizing on how to take him down. But he had taken down the majority of the knightmares before the pilots could climb in them

In fact most of the pilots were hiding behind cover while they watched his rampage while only a few tried to run through the cacophony of explosions.

Suzaku gave out a small smile at how he had defeated them without any lives being lost unnecessarily. There were a few calls for medics for stray shrapnel wounds but nothing life threatening by the looks of it.

"DIE!"

He shouldn't have been able to hear it in this chaos but he didn't need to. He knew what Akito would say. His brain filled in the blank as he saw a knightmare close in with skill only the Holy Swords had and none of them had been in the hangar.

Suzaku dodged his assault rifle fire before trying to close on him. He expected to have to herd him into a corner before dispatching him but instead Akito rushed him head on, firing off his slash harken as Suzaku circled Akito.

Suzaku reached out with his fork knife as soon as he was within slashing distance but Akito suddenly pulled back his slash harken that pulled him to the left unexpectedly. Suzaku went sailing by while Akito unloaded a full clip into his side and back.

He checked his system and saw there wasn't any critical damage yet. But another drive by like that would be dangerous. Suzaku's eyes searched the hangar for Akito and didn't see him anywhere on the ground. On a hunch he checked the ceiling.

His mouth dropped open. Akito was flying right at him and he quickly jumped to the side to avoid a double kick to the face. Yet again he received a burst of 25 MM streamers but it was more uncontrolled this time. He only got a few scratches.

He turned his knightmare around and pushed the Guren forward as fast as possible to catch Akito from behind. He gained on him quickly but somehow Akito was… rising?

His eyes went skywards again and he found his answer. Akito was hanging from the ceiling with his slash harkens. He'd used them to swing down at him and now he was pulling himself back up again.

He had no long distance weapons. He couldn't possibly reach him if he decided to stay up there. He strafed back and forth for a minute dodging Akito's shots before he decided to ignore him. He impaled a wrecked Glasgow on his fork knife and carried it on his back to use as a makeshift shield.

He surveyed his surroundings for a moment and saw that several glasgows were being boarded by pilots who had taken advantage of his distraction. He couldn't let them gang up on him. If they did, then he'd be forced to use lethal force. He had to save them. He tossed the wrecked Glasgow to the side so it wouldn't slow him down as he raced towards the boarding pilots.

He was far away enough that a blast of the radiant wave surger wouldn't be lethal so he carefully squeezed off the lowest dose. The crowd broke, but those inside their cockpits didn't feel a thing and were already booting up.

He turned off his radiant wave surger and grabbed the nearest cockpit and used his fork knife as a crude scalpel to cut them out.

He couldn't be gentle though because Akito was right above him raining down fire. He ripped and slashed as gently as he could so that the knightmare wouldn't explode. As soon as he was finished he retreated among the wrecks for some cover. He wasn't used to this knightmare and he didn't need to beat Akito nor did he want to.

He had already destroyed any force, they could scramble in time to stop Princess Cornelia's rescue.

He changed his mind when he saw that the ceiling resembled cheese. The kind with a lot of holes. He didn't know how much longer it could withstand Akito swinging around like a deranged monkey. He had to stop him, before he brought down the ceiling on all of them. He wouldn't let Akito kill so many people.

He took a risk and fired of his own slash harken into the ceiling close to where Akito's was anchored. Akito immediately tried to unplug it and reel it back in but he was too late. Suzaku had managed to grab the cable with his radiant wave surger. A quick twist of his wrist melted it away into nothing. Akito crashed against the wall without a second slash harken to stabilize him. But he managed to land with his land spinners first allowing him to glide down to the ground as if he were skiing down a steep slope.

Suzaku glanced at the ceiling and was relieved it seemed to be holding for now and lowered himself down slowly. Akito seemed to be rethinking his strategy for now and he was going to use the lull in the battle to prevent other casualties by preventing them from getting inside knightmares.

* * *

**Urabe pov**

**Officers break room, five minutes ago.**

Urabe woke up to sirens blaring in his ears. But he didn't complain and try to go back to sleep.

No instead he was wide awake in an instant and was running out the door in his crumpled uniform.

"I shouldn't have taken a nap on the couch." He grumbled to himself "I sleep for just fifteen minutes and the britannians are already attacking!"

He met up with Chiba along the way towards the hangar bay. "So you noticed the brits started early as well." He joked as he kept on running at full speed.

Chiba scowled "Tch, the backstabbing bastards" She grumbled openly.

Urabe nodded "I suppose they didn't trust us to keep our end of the bargain." which wasn't surprising considering they were still considered terrorists by the Empire.

It didn't take them long before they reached the hangar and saw the fiery destruction within. It looked like every Glasgow was shredded to pieces or melted into a blob.

"Goddamn it!" cursed Chiba "What the fuck happened, how'd they get all the way here without us knowing about it!"

Urabe realized it instantly and mumbled "Spies."

Chiba cursed again while she looked for a knightmare that still looked operational.

Stray knightmare rifle fire gouged huge holes near them. Urabe felt a few stone and metal shards burying their way into his body. But they were small and could be ignored. Most didn't even pierce his uniform let alone his skin.

They jumped to the ground regardless. They slowly looked up and saw the pride and joy of the JLF battle a Sutherland.

Tohdoh!

Urabe felt relieved to know the Lt Colonel was already on the scene. That Sutherland wouldn't stand a chance against it. He then heard Chiba mumbling next to him.

"What'd you say?"

Chiba swallowed heavily "The Lt colonel is still on his way back with Senba and Asahina. That can't be him." She said quietly

Urabe wanted to deny it, but his eyes shoved the proof into his face. The numerous molten blobs that used to be knightmares that he'd overlooked before, were now as bright as neon signs. A lot of them were clearly empty, so no loyal JLF soldier would harm them. Only a spy would want to destroy them.

He'd blinked and refocused on the battle still being fought by the Sutherland and the captured Guren. The Sutherland was holding its own but only barely. The Guren's specs would have overwhelmed it long ago if it didn't take potshots at other knightmares.

He pulled Chiba upwards "Come on, we need to help out." He half ordered, half pleaded.

The Guren seemed particularly intent on keeping anyone from getting in a knightmare. Urabe saw it rip out cockpits and use the radiant wave surger to force JLF soldiers away from intact knightmares.

Chiba took off running in a different direction. "We need to split up, so he can't stop us. Good luck Urabe!" She shouted over her shoulder.

"Yeah, you too." He replied as he spied his own target amidst the debris. He too took off full sprint and ignored the yelling and screaming all around him. He nearly got to his knightmare when he heard Chiba scream. This he couldn't ignore, he turned around.

He saw Chiba getting targeted by the radiant wave surger. Her skin was blistering and her throat already hoarse from screaming out her agony, but she kept running. The Guren came closer but she put on an all-out sprint, determined to get into her chosen knightmare.

Urabe never felt more respect for her than he did in that moment. He didn't stay spellbound by her bravery however. He turned back and ran for his knightmare. He was useless without it.

An explosion went off behind him, he glanced over his shoulder. The knightmare Chiba had been gunning for was held up in the claw like hand as a grotesque shield against the Sutherland's rifle fire.

Chiba was kneeling on the ground panting and nursing her wounds and he feared for her. But then she got up and started running for another knightmare.

He reached his knightmare and resolved to give no mercy to whomever had stolen the Guren and tortured Chiba. He sent off a quick message to the command center before he hurled himself into battle.

* * *

**Lord Guilford**

**JLF corridors**

Guilford double tapped the guards with precision and professionalism. His heart screamed at him to unload a full clip into these heartless bastards, but he stayed the course, for his princess.

He allowed other members of his team to overtake his position while he provided cover. They had slowly sliced the corners and leapfrogged over each other steadily until they had gone loud.

Now it was all about getting to the rendezvous point where the Glaston knights would extract them.

"Who is fighting behind us?" asked Princess Cornelia while she double checked the sidearm she had been given after some protests.

"We infiltrated the JLF with some honorary britannians, when they expanded recklessly following their victory at Narita. Right now, one of them is raising hell in the hangar bay while another is blocking communications and setting charges to sabotage any pursuit effort."

By which he meant they were placing C4 in the ammunition depot and underneath the tanks. He had only vetoed the plan to place them in the barracks because the honorary britannians might have balked at that.

Other than that everything was allowed, from collapsing corridors to slashing tires.

Princess Cornelia smiled "Good work Guilford"

Guildford felt his chest fill up with that feeling he got, whenever she complimented him. He still wasn't sure, if it was merely a sense of pride and fulfillment but he couldn't dwell on it.

"Glaston knights what's your ETA" He asked over the radio

"Coming in hot in T minus two minutes" came the reply.

* * *

**JLF Command Center**

General Katase gritted his teeth as he tried to make sense of all the jumbled reports coming in from all sides.

Didn't his men understand he couldn't follow what they were saying when they were all talking at once. It seemed discipline went out the window, and they were reduced to shouting the loudest.

"Shut up!" He roared to establish some order "Now you, what happened in the hangar bay?"

The officer immediately began his report "Private Kururugi Suzaku boarded the Guren and started wreaking havoc. A few pilots on hand, including two of the Holy Swords have scrambled to stop him, but are having difficulty overcoming the machine's specs. They are requesting permission to destroy it."

General Katase clenched his fist and spat out "Permission granted, I'd rather see it on a junkyard than in Britannian hands."

That started another round of mumblings about whether or not Kururugi was loyal to Britannia but he silenced them with a glare.

"We also can't get in touch with Lt Colonel Tohdoh or Senba and Asahina. It appears somebody sabotaged our communications equipment by throwing a grenade in the server room."

"There have also been multiple reported explosions in other parts of the perimeter but luckily the one in the ammo depot, was found before it could detonate by Private Tanaka."

It was a general's wet dream, they were disorganized, isolated from the others and taken by surprise. The only thing missing was the final stroke to finish them off.

Prince Schneizel had double crossed him!

Sure prince Schneizel had paid as promised but he had lost just as many machines as he had gained!

And that 'no negotiating with terrorists' policy from the Emperor had stopped him from getting his captured soldiers back. So he was down on pilots and instead of a public victory where he brought home unjustly imprisoned sons and daughters he had nothing to show for it but defeat.

He had taken down the camera circuit for maintenance as they agreed, and they repaid him by blowing up his hangar bay!

"Prepare to evacuate!" He ordered loudly "This battle can't be salvaged. We need to retreat before we suffer more losses."

"What about Princess Cornelia?" asked a junior officer who wasn't included in the plan.

"We'll deal with her later, right now we need to regroup before the main strike force arrives to finish us off." though it pained him to admit it.

Yet again he was running and this time he had no royal hostage to save face with.

Worse, his entire organization had shown itself to be riddled with spies and saboteurs. He'd be lucky to keep the JLF together let alone get rid of them.

Hopefully he could blame the sabotage on the Britannian special ops team until he could think of something.

* * *

**Later that night.**

**Kallen**

Kallen took a long relaxing shower to get all the fish guts off of her. Though it seemed like an exercise in futility. She still reeked even after two hours under a scalding hot high pressure stream and plenty of soap.

But even if it was useless she kept lathering it on, there was no way she was standing in one room with Lelouch while smelling like a gutted fish.

CC yelled from the living room "You know Lelouch pays the water bill right?"

That brought her up short. She doubted Lelouch would appreciate her ramping up extra charges just for her sensibilities, not when she was going back out tomorrow.

"Hey you're not the one working on a fishing boat all day!"

"It's one of the perks of not being in the Black Knights." returned C.C teasingly

Kallen grumbled under her breath while she grabbed a towel and dried off. But then she decided another fifteen minutes wouldn't hurt. She was going to sit next to him on the airplane after all. So she needed to know how long it took, to get rid of the smell.

* * *

**The next day**

**The Six Houses of Kyoto.**

Kaguya was sitting calmly in a seiza position. Well as calmly as she could.

She had to keep a fan in front of her mouth to hide her snarl as the Six Houses of Kyoto discussed the latest disaster of the JLF.

"They still have over a hundred and fifty knightmares and the Holy Swords making them still the strongest resistance group in Japan and our best hope." argued Hidenobu

"That may be so, but it is only thanks to the nearly exclusive support we have shown them. I'm afraid I agree with lady Sumeragi now, the JLF has passed its peak. We should start looking for young blood to revitalize the struggle." argued Tousai Munakata back.

"Those amateurs have none of the professional training that the JLF has. It would be sending lambs to the slaughter now that Princess Cornelia has been freed." added Tatsunori Osakabe

Tousai shook his head "No the lambs would have been the Japanese as well as the predators. The britannians needed to merely sit back and watch the slaughter."

Frowns of incomprehension were scattered across the room. But none were willing to ask for clarification just yet. They kept silent hoping he would elaborate. Kaguya however didn't care if she looked too dimwitted to understand his meaning. "What do you mean Munakata san?"

Munakata Tousai sighed "General Katase made many demands, some foolish and some downright disastrous. We should actually be thankful for the Emperor's mercy."

That highly inflammatory remark had the whole room up in arms, shouting every politely phrased insult they could think off.

Munakata narrowed his eyes and slammed his hand down on the table, shocking the room into silence for a moment. "Remember you fools! Remember our history and the history of our neighbors! General Katase demanded the release of every Japanese prisoner. Why do you think prince Schneizel was eager to comply with that demand when every other Britannian official refused?"

The seemingly rhetorical question had silenced the room once more and every one was at least mildly curious to find out why.

Munakata scrunched up his nose in disgust for a moment, showing it wasn't rhetorical after all. "A country once released every violent offender they had from their prisons, put them on boats and sailed them as refugees to another country. That country not knowing their history welcomed them with open arms and the politicians enjoyed a popularity bump for the humanitarian act. It didn't take long however before those 'refugees' started killing people in broad daylight and extra ice trucks had to be hired because the morgue was overflowing. Murder cases were closed because of workload instead of lack of evidence. Do you get my meaning now?" He asked with some venom.

Kaguya smiled at the damning insight, even if the conclusion was rather repulsive. "He was planning on releasing all the Japanese prisoners wasn't he? Not just those arrested for terrorism. Every murderer and refrain junkie would get labeled as a resistance fighter and tarnish our image amongst the populace. The people would turn against us when they start committing crimes while wearing our colors."

Tousai Munakata nodded grimly "He planned on marking them with a serial number on their forearms. A barbarous act that would vilify him at first but when the nightly news keeps showing footage of them murdering and vandalizing Japan. Then the people, both Britannian and Japanese would soon call for their heads. And the worst part is that he'd have created a subclass of humans that he can do anything to. He could mark any Japanese at will and no one would care anymore what happened to them."

The room frowned and glared at the thought of dividing Japanese further. It was bad enough to be sorted into honorary britannians and numbers. Or as most saw it, traitors and friends. But to add serial numbers to it that justified the abuse numbers suffered at the hands of the britannians. It was unthinkable.

Kirihara spoke up "I don't think he would go that far. Letting them commit crimes under our flag yes. But not actively framing them to excuse torture. It would be easily seen through when too many innocents' loved ones come forward to deny the charges. Prince Schneizel is more subtle than that."

Tousai shrugged "Perhaps, but he isn't Britannia. He is just one head of the hydra and we have to deal with other more incompetent and viciously cruel heads as well."

No one could deny that. Many had already been reminiscing about the good old days under prince Clovis, a relatively benign ruler until Shinjuku, who let them get away with minor acts of rebellion. Princess Cornelia in contrast held no love for numbers and clamped down on every infraction.

But even she was a damn sight better than Kewel Soresi. The temporary viceroy was going through political rehabilitation after his public lynching from the military rape fiasco. He was still a fringe element for now, but some already feared he might be able to bring back the purist agenda.

Those released prisoners would have given him the ammo he needed. Soresi would have loved framing elevens and using that to end the honorary Britannian program. A program many Japanese needed to feed their families. The end of it would turn their anger at the perceived source, their own people.

Tatsunori Osakabe grudgingly admitted "An unintended mercy."

Tousai snorted "Luckily we can count on our enemy' mercy more than on the JLF"

Kirihara narrowed his eyes at the insult but didn't respond while Kaguya gleefully took the opening to redirect the conversation back to the JLF's flaws. "So prince Schneizel didn't betray the JLF's kindness?" She asked somewhat uncertainly, provoking a harsh correction from the others by acting confused.

Tatsunori's nose scrunched up in disgust at her apparent stupidity "It was the Emperor who was merciful" He stopped for a moment at the absurdness of his own sentence before he soldiered on "Not prince Schneizel." Though he clearly wanted to add unintentionally again but he didn't want to blather on like an idiot either.

"So general Katase made a secret deal with someone who was trying to screw him over from the beginning and only the interference of the Emperor stopped it?" She laid out plainly to the annoyance and anger of the rest of the Six Houses, most of it was directed at general Katase though.

Sure prince Schneizel's plan was pretty ingenious and not many would have caught it. But after Tousai had explained it, it seemed rather simple in hindsight. The fact that the Emperor of all people had saved them was especially a sore point.

Every single one was now thinking that general Katase was incompetent to have missed it and wished they'd been more involved in the negotiations so they could have stopped it. What they could have done better was vague but it would have been something.

Kaguya smiled at the mood turning against general Katase. When no one wanted to reply she asked another 'stupid' question. "But they at least picked up the knightmares from the drop off point right?"

That got nods around the room and Kirihara took the chance to salvage the JLF's image. "A hundred brand new Sutherlands whose combined specs far outstrip the force general Katase used to have under his command."

Silence greeted the statement for the most part. Everyone looked at each other wondering what the others thought about it. Sure it replenished their losses but the lost pilots and morale wasn't coming back.

The awkward silence was eventually broken by someone who had remained silent until now. "I still don't understand why general Katase agreed to only a hundred knightmares in exchange for Princess Cornelia. We could have gotten him that over time, her death alone would have been more valuable." grumbled Hiroyoshi Yoshino.

Tousai contemplated that for a moment and said "I think he got hung up on the fact that just another hundred frames would have decided the battle of Narita in his favor without the Black Knights' assistance."

Tatsunori who before had been on general Katase's side fired back "Did he forget that over a thousand frames and other heavy machinery are spread out over Japan? The only reason princess Cornelia didn't use her full might, was because she didn't think she'd need it."

This combined with the released prisoners issue showed that general Katase couldn't see the bigger picture. He was like a dog with a bone, tenacious but easily led around by others.

Kaguya saw that even Kirihara realized that the mood in the room was starting to shift against his old friend. He tried to placate them by putting it into context. "If we look back in history we can find many battles that have been lost due to the irrational demands from politicians. We allowed general Katase so much freedom to prevent us from ordering him to do something foolish."

Kaguya decided the iron was hot enough to shed her 'innocent questions' routine. She went for the killing blow. "That may have been fine in theory, but it does count on the general actually knowing what he is doing and clearly general Katase does not." She said viciously, surprising her mentor Kirihara in the process. She had kept her tongue long enough in deference to him. But enough was enough.

"I agree, let's not forget that Itsukushima was orchestrated by Tohdoh and the naval defense of our island as well. I propose we remove this bureaucrat and put Tohdoh directly in charge." proposed Tousai.

They thought that over for a moment. Several snuck glances at Tousai and Kaguya looking at them for guidance but she revealed nothing. It was important that someone else took the lead. She knew they were just looking for a scapegoat they could hide behind. This was still betrayal and no one wanted to sign the order even if they all wanted it done.

"Tohdoh won't accept that. His honor won't allow him to betray his master." said Hiroyoshi tentatively to get the ball rolling hoping someone else would take it from there.

"…"

"Then just force general Katase to resign!" snarled Tatsunori clearly losing his patience at the lukewarm room.

Kaguya smiled at his impatience or was it boldness?

It wasn't that different from the first girl jumping into the water with only her bra and panties on, prompting all the others to jump after her. It took a mindset that not many had.

The room in general made some agreeing noises and nodded along but were reluctant to take the lead. Tatsunori had stripped down naked but they were still waiting for him to jump in the water.

"What if he fights it?" asked Tousai to the suddenly silent room. General Katase had enough personal loyalty to him to fracture the JLF into smaller groups if they forced the issue.

Tatsunori however brushed it aside like a twenty year old too drunk to care about consequences "Then we'll poison him and say it's a heart attack or something."

Kaguya could almost hear the splashing water.

Kirihara's eyes widened but that was the only sign of his discomfort. He calmly replied "The JLF gained some doctors from the Black Knight defectors. They will want to do their own autopsy." appealing to their caution to save his old friend.

"Fine then, we'll send him out on an errand and leak his travel schedule to the Britannians." blurted out Tatsunori once more and the room agreed to his proposal. Practically taking off their clothes and jumping in with him. If this ever leaked out, then it would be the same as the cops busting their party. They could only run and hope to get away or point the finger at the ringleaders.

Kaguya would be caught in her panties as well. But she wouldn't take the fall. She wouldn't be fingered as the one who masterminded the assassination of a national hero. She would survive the embarrassment.

As they discussed what channels to use to leak his travel schedule Kaguya felt a smirk blossoming into a smile. Try as she might, she couldn't keep a grim and stoic face like the others. She tried to hide it behind her fan but Kirihara's glare at least told her he wasn't fooled by it. He knew she'd been the frat boy who got Tatsunori drunk and riled up with innocent little questions that poked at the flaws of the JLF and general Katase in particular.

She didn't care though. General Katase had held Japan back long enough and she wasn't going to let personal relationships stop her.

So what if she lost a lifelong mentor and condemned a man to death.

She couldn't fully suppress a little whisper in the back of her head that told her that she was no better than Britannia though. She did condemn him for incompetence after all. And didn't they like to spout that only the strongest survive…


	34. Reflection

**Chapter thirty four Reflection **

**Award ceremony**

**Suzaku pov**

He tried not to fidget as rows of minor nobility gazed on him with mild interest. But they were generally more interested in their own plans and connections they could forge after the ceremony was over. He ignored them all.

Suzaku knelt at Princess Cornelia's direction and was awarded a medal for extraordinary services to the Holy Empire of Britannia. The Silver Chimera. A monstrous creature composed of multiple parts that was a harbinger of natural disasters and a symbol of satanic power in Christianity.

It felt fitting that it would now adorn his chest. Though its very touch and what it symbolized disgusted him: Inevitable conquest, for no one can stop natural disasters and a complete acceptance of the evils of mankind.

He had been eligible for plenty of others. He hadn't at first realized why he had been given this one, until he ran into lord Asplund.

**Flashback**

Suzaku was wandering the halls of the viceroy's palace. Well, the ones open to the public. He didn't quite feel like testing his luck in the restricted ones just yet.

"Ohoo is this the one who brought me my latest toy?" said a person with lavender hair and a lab coat on despite being at court.

He blinked and stood still for a moment before replying "Uhm I'm Suzaku Kururugi and I'm afraid I don't know what you're talking about" He said to the eccentric man who was staring oddly at him.

A blue haired woman who followed in the man's wake smiled gently at him "He's talking about the Guren mark two."

The man's cheery mood suddenly reversed and he gloomily said "Off course **I **built the _first _seventh generation knightmare frame but because _that woman _found the devicer that should have belonged to me first!" He started pulling his hair "I'll be just an amusing foot note in history, like the guys who invented the telephone" he hung his head and seemed lost in his own little world.

Suzaku unconsciously took a step back while he watched the one-man show.

The bluenette stepped forward and blocked off his sight of the spectacle the man was making. "Sorry he's been in a bad mood since Princess Cornelia's rescue. Prince Schneizel has been more insistent on us finding a pilot but we've already combed all the ranks in area eleven." She paused and immediately clapped her hand to her mouth like she shouldn't have said that before she tried to pass it off as sneezing.

Suzaku decided to ignore it but inwardly he was wondering why he hadn't been asked. Perhaps because he was part of the intelligence division. But for them to assume that all the talented pilots were knights was presumptuous. But he knew better to lecture a superior officer about fair treatment. Even if it chafed to know he was better than any of those so called aces and it didn't matter. But he couldn't get in a fight just before his award ceremony so he kept a polite smile.

"Anyways I hear you are being awarded a medal for your help." The blue haired woman said to change the subject.

The odd man had a weird look of contemplation on his face, it was somehow whimsical "Ahh yes, a pretty way to out you as a traitor to the Japanese and demoralize them. Quite a few saw you as the liberating hero, to dash their hopes so crudely on national television will be quite the blow." He started laughing manically but got an elbow in his lower back, so he shut up.

The blue haired woman ignored his grumblings and said "Just ignore him and enjoy yourself tonight and stop by tomorrow, we'd like to have a little chat." She handed him her card before dragging the man away.

He ignored the man's childish attempts to get away and looked at the card that only had CAMELOT in bold golden letters on a white background. He flipped it around and saw a phone number and an office address but nothing else. He sighed "That's useful"

Though it was vague, he couldn't help but think he'd just been invited to a job interview. Well, maybe he was just too optimistic.

**End flashback**

He hadn't caught their names but he knew they were right after he watched the ceremony. It was a high light reel of his accomplishments, but it just sounded like the britannians twisting every knife he stabbed in Japan's back.

He only felt more ashamed of himself as each one reminded him of when he stabbed his own father. And then proceeded to stab Mizuka, Mayuki and so many others. But he couldn't dwell on it. The medal was accompanied with a promotion to Sergeant major. It was the highest rank for the enlisted men and he had jumped several ranks at once.

But where was he going to go from here?

He had been effectively burned by Britannia as a spy. There wasn't a single Japanese who would be willing to trust him now. Something which bothered him immensely.

He could only imagine what Mayuki could be feeling when she saw him on this stage. Practically standing on her brother's corpse. Mizuka was easier. He'd heard enough of his revenge fantasies to know. Mizuka would scratch off his skin with a metal brush and then rub…. What was it again? He kept forgetting. Didn't really matter though, the sentiment was the same.

They'd rather kill him than trust a word out of his mouth ever again. Which was a problem.

When he finally attained a high enough rank to change things. How could he change things if no one believed him?

But that was a detail to figure out later, for now he needed a new path.

He accepted the medal and stood up and stoically stared at the cameras. It wouldn't do to smile at them, nor did he feel like it.

He wasn't proud of this. He didn't want to parade around like a peacock and sing on command like these nobles. But orders were orders, so he sang his acceptance speech.

The scripted applause was a welcome sound. It meant it was almost over. Even if they were praising his betrayal of his friends.

"All hail Britannia!" crashed into him

But worse was the wave after wave of chants. The sheer volume of them shouting 'All hail Britannia' was daunting, it unnerved him like never before.

"All hail Britannia!" swept over him again like a never ending wave.

He couldn't help but question if he was really doing the right thing. Before crushing the niggling doubt with sheer stubbornness in his belief that results were meaningless. It was how they came to be was what was important, for that determined how lasting it would be. Voting rights for women had been obtained through the system and no one questioned it anymore. It would survive any societal upheaval, and so would the equality of numbers.

"All hail Britannia!" He tried thinking of his promotion as if it was a shining light in the darkness. So long as he kept running towards it he wouldn't lose his way or drown

"All hail Britannia!" He kept his chin up as he looked above the crowd's latest wave, looking forward.

"All hail Britannia!"

* * *

**China **

**Lelouch**

He stretched his free arm and stood on his toes in an attempt to get rid of all the knots in his body. He hadn't felt as energetic as in Japan. Every day was boring drudgery.

He'd read report after report and filed his own. There was no adrenaline rush from risking his life on risky plans and on unreliable subordinates. The worst thing that could go wrong was that a production line would break down and he'd lose millions.

But he didn't have any deadline to meet but his own. He still gave it his all and put in a solid ten hours a day but he had caught himself daydreaming about what Leila could be doing.

Not the usual worrying if she'd get her work done but more whimsical. He did it so much that he wasn't that surprised that she came barging through the door when he was wondering if she wanted to grab a bite to eat with him.

"Hey Leila, great timing, wanna grab lunch?" He asked before she could get a word out.

Leila stopped in her tracks and blinked before she re-gathered steam. "Yeah sure" She said dismissively "But what's up with this text message!" She shoved her cell phone into his face.

It was so close that his eyes hurt just trying to focus on it, let alone read the letters. He didn't need to recognize them to know what it said though.

"I figured it was a good idea and I wanted to know what you thought" He tried innocently

Leila glared at him for a moment before retracting the cell phone and reading out the message out loud. "Hey Leila, I'm thinking about invading Japan next week. You reckon it's a good idea?"

The fact that she recited it with the casualness of suggesting a restaurant to eat at kinda explained why she was pissed off.

He held up his hands and said "Hold on, I can explain. I was drunk and I…" He trailed off a bit as he realized how crappy that explanation sounded and Leila had no hesitation in rubbing it in.

"You pass out in the gutter if you're pissed, you wreck your car, and you cheat and beg forgiveness in the morning when you're drunk. You do not and I repeat do not!" She said with emphasis "Order people to invade another country!" She threw the phone at his chest.

It bounced off his cast and landed in his lap. He grabbed it in a daze and saw the other message. 'Huh apparently he really had ordered to invade another country last night and it wasn't just a dream.' He'd been so sure he'd fallen asleep by then.

"Honey I can explain" He said slowly, as if he was talking a suicidal jumper of a ledge.

She kept on glaring at him but didn't say more which was good enough for him. "I found out last night that the eunuchs plan on eliminating one of their rivals by approving a suicidal plan of his. The arrogant bastard thinks he can conquer Japan by masquerading as a liberator."

Leila huffed "What's that got to do with this. And I thought I told you not to stick your nose in the imperial court." She added with an imperiously raised eyebrow

Lelouch grimaced. He did promise that. But didn't it go unsaid that all men swore to lie when their right hand rested on a boob.

Luckily he didn't technically break the promise. He hadn't gone there personally. He'd just geassed a few officials until he got lucky.

"I didn't, I just bribed some people. And I wanted to piggy back onto his invasion plan to make it work and I asked your opinion on it." He explained hurriedly when she didn't seem impressed by the bribing part.

Leila however did seem somewhat mollified by the 'asking her' part but still confused. "But then C.C convinced me to go drinking and then…. I don't really remember. I thought I only dreamed sending that order." _Please blame C.C. Please blame C.C. Please blame C.C_.

"You drunk dialed plans to invade another country…" She asked slowly then added "Don't you have an ex-girlfriend to harass?"

Lelouch flinched slightly at the reminder. He probably owed Milly an apology. Nah scratch that, he owed his future self an apology. (_Drunk dialing Milly was worse than giving C.C. his credit card especially since he couldn't resist boasting about spelling out the periodic table in her split legs general direction_.)

"Euhm yes." He said eloquently. He stared her right in the eyes and resolved to take whatever abuse Leila wanted to throw at him.

She however just rolled her eyes and mumbled quietly "Only you Lelouch"

He remained quiet wondering what he should do or say.

Leila however felt no hesitation whatsoever and just plopped down on his couch. She silently cast her gaze around his office, no doubt trying to gain some clues from how ordered everything was.

Leila's gaze finally fixed on something. "I thought you stopped taking those?" She asked

Lelouch followed her gaze and spotted the half empty bottle that he'd neglected to throw away. He wasn't proud off it but he kinda liked the feeling of being completely disconnected from the world while floating around in his dreams.

He had strayed a bit from his doctor's recommendation the first few days in the hospital thanks to geass. But what else can you expect from a doctor who literally can't say no and a patient screaming out in pain.

After the worst was over he hadn't been tempted anymore so he doubted he was addicted. Mostly because he felt sweaty and sick half the time and slept the day away the other half. He still kept a bottle around for a rainy day though.

He shrugged "Leftovers" and left it at that.

Leila just kept staring and said nothing. It didn't feel judgmental but definitely disbelieving. Lelouch rolled his eyes, grabbed the bottle and threw it at the trashcan. He missed by two arm lengths.

Leila looked at it and mumbled something about points and style.

He glared at her halfheartedly "Like you can do better with your entire chest and shoulder wrapped in plaster." He knocked on his cast for emphasis.

Leila shrugged and slouched further into the couch "If you can get drunk with it…" and left the rest unsaid.

Lelouch rolled his eyes but he didn't really have a snappy response to that unless he got a bit vulgar and that wasn't going to win him any points at the moment.

So they just stared at each other for a moment before Lelouch got up and picked up the bottle of the ground and slam dunked it next to the trashcan… He could hear Leila snorting behind him but she did not say anything.

Somewhat shamefaced he stooped over again and this time just dropped the bottle in the trashcan. With a pout he dropped down next to Leila on the couch and she immediately wrapped her arm around him and started rubbing his shoulder.

Lulled into a comfortable moment they both rested their heads against each other while Lelouch rubbed small circles on Leila's thigh with his thumb.

The moment was disturbed when his door opened again and Sayoko poked her head into the room with a hamper in her hands. Her eyes widened slightly when she spotted them and was already backing away before Lelouch waved her in.

The clank of the door handle roused Leila's attention. Her eye cracked open lazily and almost dismissed Sayoko in favor of snuggling until she spotted the hamper.

Lelouch could practically feel points slipping away as Sayoko searched his room for dirty clothes and tidied up in general. He looked Leila in the eyes and tapped his cast, her eyes were drawn to his fingers and after a second she shrugged as if conceding the point.

He let it go and instead started planning on how to get Leila to either make out with him or agree to his invasion plans. Preferably the first one.

* * *

**Princess Cornelia **

Cornelia glared at the doctor who was taking his sweet time declaring her fit for duty. She had already undergone an emergency medical checkup and a more extensive one afterwards. So the fact that she had to go through another one for formality's sake had her hand twitching while it rested on her sidearm.

The doctor however seemed oblivious to her subtle death threats and just hummed as he scribbled down some notes.

"Princess Cornelia it seems the JLF has either begun a rigid radio silence or they have executed our spies." informed Guilford to make this slightly less a waste of her time.

Cornelia grunted at the irritating news though it wasn't surprising. Any idiot would have suspected an inside man after all the sabotage they suffered and she already admitted it on television. She wouldn't be surprised if general Katase summarily executed every new recruit to cut off the rotten parts before it infected and killed the rest. Harebrained schemes that backfired immensely seemed to be his specialty.

"They'll be licking their wounds for a few months at least, so we'll switch focus to the other resistance groups in the area. Keep searching for them but keep it low priority, I doubt they'll risk sunlight for a while." She wanted revenge on the JLF but she wasn't blinded by it and letting them marinate in their defeat sounded like a good start.

Guildford nodded and wrote it down in his pocket notebook.

General Darlton then spoke up "That Kururugi guy we gave the medal to the other day was also approached by the special engineering group. They want to use him to test pilot their new prototype."

She asked the obvious question "Why do they need him specifically?" They wouldn't pick a non-Britannian just for the fun of it. When they knew it would threaten to cut their funding.

"They say he is the only pilot they found with a simulation score of 96% in Japan. Thus he makes the best test pilot to deal with the sensitive controls of the Lancelot."

Princess Cornelia thought it over "Can't they use the Glaston knights or Guilford for this. I know the scores are lower but is it still within operational limits?"

General Darlton replied "I'll have to ask them to be sure your highness."

Cornelia nodded, there was no way she was putting experimental tech into the hands of a soldier whose loyalty was questionable.

* * *

**Lelouch **

Lelouch wrote down some red arrows on a giant whiteboard and then drew some blue arrows to counter. He then erased some and made a red arrow in the opposite direction that was then closely followed by the blue arrows. He then threaded the arrows all over his whiteboard making one big incomprehensible mess.

He smirked at the sight that resembled a ball of yarn spun by a curious cat.

CC looked on with disinterest "Is it really that amusing Lelouch?" She asked with a hint of disapproval.

He shrugged "It would be more fun if Leila was here to draw some squiggles as well but the stakes make up for it."

"Ah yes the lives of a few thousand men are just the thing to spice up a boring afternoon" drawled C.C.

Lelouch rolled his eyes at her melodrama "I'm not the one who's sending them to die in this halfhearted gambit. If the fucking eunuchs had used enough men to make it doable" C.C. snorted at something that Lelouch ignored "I would have backed off and watched." 'With popcorn' mumbled C.C. "But with how things are I doubt I'll be able to turn things around."

"That won't stop you from trying though."

Lelouch shrugged "It's a good opportunity to exploit. If I win, great. I'll just step back and let Schneizel destroy them. If I lose, so what? I'll at least have bloodied Britannia somewhat."

"So it's fine so long as you don't lose face huh?"

Lelouch frowned at how CC phrased that but he couldn't deny that she was right. "I'm not the one sending them to their deaths CC. They already are as good as dead, I'm just making their deaths meaningful" He defended halfheartedly

"For all the years that I've been alive, I've never understood that reasoning."

"What reasoning?"

"That for spilt blood to make sense, more of it must be spilt."

"What's so hard to understand about it?" asked Lelouch "People willingly died for a cause and so long as you achieve that cause then their deaths won't be in vain. Cause that was what they wanted to accomplish with their lives."

"But who decides what causes are worthy, what criteria must it fulfill and what if you never achieve it? Do you keep on spilling blood, even if you are a minority that everyone prefers to just fade from existence?" Said CC while she absentmindedly traced parts of her body as if a phantom scar was there.

Lelouch frowned at the reasoning that threatened to undermine his life's work. He opened his mouth to speak and closed it again. Before he took a deep breath and said. "The criteria are: the majority of the people must want it because it's righteous. The entire world wants to be rid of the imperial yoke of Britannia and I will give it to them."

"Ahh, but how badly do they want it, enough to give up their homes and even their lives? Most will pay lip service to justice and liberty, but are perfectly willing to keep on living in slavery to avoid more trouble."

"Are you saying people would prefer living in chains over dying a free man or woman?"

"Yes" deadpanned C.C without hesitation "Slavery isn't something unusual Lelouch. If anything it's normal and the recent rhetoric that makes it morally reprehensible is unnatural. People strive to be better but they will always succumb to just selfishly improving their own lives at the expense of another. Technology has just become the replacement slave of humanity. If it could talk, then it too would cry out for freedom."

Lelouch traced the outline of the usb key to his Sutherland in his jean's pocket. He shook his head "Technology is just a tool and no more alive than a rock"

"My sci fi novels say something different."

Lelouch sighed "That's just fiction, if I wanted to, I could write I had a thousand women worshipping at my feet and that I ruled the world for all eternity."

CC's smirked at an inside joke. "That isn't as farfetched as you'd think. Not too long ago knightmares were considered sci fi but look at us now."

Lelouch was painfully reminded of the research his brothers did and how becoming immortal was just one answer away for him. But he doubted back then that CC would tell him voluntarily and he did now.

He didn't let it show that he understood her joke completely and just focused on the knightmares. "At least that was theoretically feasible witch" He didn't want her to know he knew more than he let on.

"And what's theoretically possible about geass hmm?" asked CC in amusement

Lelouch felt like giving a lecture on the possibilities postulated by the Rosenberg institute but instead just conceded the win.

* * *

**Ohgi pov**

He sighed, while he tried once more to block out the clanging sound that was threatening to give him a head ache.

"They can't fucking do this to us, we're the Black Knights!" screamed Sugiyama while he hit the iron bars continuously.

Inoue looked up at that and snorted.

Sugiyama spun around "What's so funny Inoue!"

"We stopped being the Black Knights, the moment we put on our JLF uniforms Sugiyama." She said mockingly with a sad undertone and a hint of longing.

Oghi didn't need to look at her to know she regretted ever joining the JLF.

They all did. They were all drawn in by pretty promises of glory and freeing their country without secretive leaders who weren't even Japanese.

They'd been sure they'd be included in the decisions, that things would be more democratic. They were wrong. The JLF was a military dictatorship worse than the Black Knights. They weren't included and they would've accepted that if general Katase and Tohdoh knew what they were doing.

They weren't incompetent but they lacked direction. They just tossed about in the wind. All of them missed Zero's certainty and resolve that convinced them everything would be okay. They all believed he would pull out a trump card at the last second and turn things around. Not so much with the JLF.

What you saw, was what you got.

Helpful suggestions to help soon turned into bitter criticism and even nostalgic pride. Everything was better under Zero and the JLF couldn't do anything right became the new mind set. To the frustration and annoyance of the higher ups. The JLF had welcomed them but they scorned them and turned up their noses.

Ohgi faintly wondered how much their bad attitude had contributed to them being imprisoned by their new comrades. Sugiyama's heart felt rant about how he was still a Black Knight in his heart only drove the point home further.

They were outsiders. They didn't belong. They were excluded by the britannians from their own country unless they became an honorary Britannian. Now the JLF had kicked them out as well and he doubted that Kallen would allow them to return to the remnants of the Black knights that followed her.

Not after what he said.

**Flashback**

**The day after the Battle of Narita **

He grabbed his phone after the third ring and looked at the caller id before answering. Ohgi's eyes widened when he saw the caller id. It was Kallen!

He immediately answered hoping for some news. He hadn't heard from her after she took off to find Q2.

"Kallen!" He began with some shock still lining his voice.

"Ohgi listen" She interrupted "I found Q2 and she has a good plan to find Zero. She is going to disguise herself as an officer and..." Kallen kept going but Ohgi felt so relieved to hear her voice that he barely heard what she said. He was happy she was okay but her single mindedness was as reckless as ever.

"Kallen you can't go near that site it's swarming with britannians and neither can Q2. Just give up and meet me at my apartment okay" He pleaded.

He wasn't surprised by her response. "We can't just abandon Zero like that! He's our only chance to liberate Japan. If those JLF fuckers hadn't betrayed him like that… then we would…"

"You can't change the past Kallen." interrupted Ohgi gently, he didn't need Kallen starting to superimpose Naoto onto Zero. He hadn't missed the suppressed emotions in her voice. Though he couldn't blame her, this was the second time the person she looked up to the most, was left for dead.

"Cut the shrink crap Ohgi!" Kallen yelled back at him.

Despite the rudeness Ohgi smiled faintly, he always preferred an angry Kallen over a sad one. "You can't save him Kallen he's already gone and you need to accept that."

He could sense a rebuttal coming with plenty of swearwords so he continued hurriedly "Anyways, you should join the JLF and continue our struggle for an independent Japan. We never could make a difference just by ourselves, but now we'll have a real organization behind us."

He wasn't as pro JLF as he sounded but he needed something to keep Kallen busy. He preferred she focused on her hatred for Britannia, rather than wasting away in her room in mourning. He still flinched whenever he remembered the days when she didn't even bother to shower anymore, because she lost all her will to live.

He regretted turning his best friend's little sister into a person driven solely by revenge. But he hoped, he could one day get her interested in a normal life. It was why he kept insisting she spent time at that school of hers. Though he sometimes questioned his judgment seeing she hated every minute of it.

Kallen grinded her teeth so harshly he could practically hear it over the phone. "You would actually join the group that killed one of our own?" She asked scathingly

Ohgi's eyes widened again, he hadn't thought of it like that. Friendly fire and collateral damage were concepts he had long gotten used to. But he had shielded Kallen from most of that. So how could he make her understand that it was just an accident?

"Kallen, the battlefield is always chaotic and accidents happen. The JLF already explained they miscalculated. They thought the explosions would need a minute to set into motion a full collapse and thought Zero would have cleared the area by then. They took a gamble to make sure they hit the pursuing britannians."

"So it's okay to be used as pawns and thrown away if the exchange of pieces is advantageous?" She asked scathingly but not rhetorically.

Ohgi thought it sounded like chess terms, and wondered how much Zero had rubbed off on her.

"No off course not, the JLF's anger is genuine. I think those who know anger also know what sadness is like."

There was a silence before Kallen erupted again "What the hell is that supposed to mean? Are you saying it's alright so long as they feel remorse about it? Or is it that they wouldn't do it on purpose because they wouldn't wish that pain on others!"

"The latter off course Kallen!" He shouted back slightly panicked to prevent her from misunderstanding him.

"Well they did do it on fucking purpose!" yelled Kallen "So what does that say about their feelings and convictions, huh?"

Ohgi shook his head though Kallen couldn't see it "I refuse to believe that Kallen, some things just happen…" He desperately searched for something to convince her "You remember Tamaki right, you didn't mean to kill him but..."

He stopped abruptly when he heard her sniffle over the phone. Oh crap! He just had to bring up her sore point.

"So you do blame me for his death." She said quietly, though she seemed somewhat relieved that he had finally brought it up.

"No Kallen I don't, that's what I've been trying to tell you."

"Well you should Ohgi." Kallen immediately countered

"Huh" said Ohgi eloquently

Kallen said in a morose whisper "I blamed him Ohgi, for something that was my fault. But I wanted to deny it, I couldn't accept it, that I killed my own mother. So I pushed it onto him, and in a frenzy I lashed out. And before I realized it, he was already lying dead on the floor."

Ohgi was speechless, he had expected as much but he didn't think Kallen would ever admit it out loud. "I know Kallen but it wasn't your fault just an accide…"

"Then why couldn't the rest of the Black Knights see that!" asked Kallen immediately "All they could see was the murderess! They never asked. They just condemned me and hoped I'd die. Why aren't they showing the same reaction to the JLF? Why are they treating me and Zero differently? Is it because we were never accepted as part of the group in the first place?" She yelled through involuntary hiccups and sniffles.

Ohgi could practically hear the unspoken question: 'is it because I'm Britannian?'

He knew Kallen had always felt insecure about her dual nationality, which was why she always insisted on Kozuki.

"Kallen, it's just that bonds strengthen over time. I admit that Zero was a good leader but he was still a stranger to us."

"So you have no problem throwing him away! Because he isn't your childhood friend." She whispered softly "Is the only reason why I haven't been sent on a suicide mission, the fact that Naoto made you promise to take care of me?"

Ohgi wanted to deny that claim but he didn't want to lie either. It didn't matter in the end though, his split second hesitation was all the answer Kallen needed.

"So that's what I am to you huh…" Kallen said quietly

Ohgi wanted to deny it but before he got more than a word out she already hung up. He immediately redialed the number but it said the phone wasn't in service.

He clenched the phone tightly in his hand as he cast his gaze upwards "Why am I so bad with words, when it matters most." He said with a sigh.

**End flash back **

He rolled over so he didn't get any sores on one side of his body while he pondered his own predicament.

Bonds

He had said that it had been the determining factor. But he had been shortsighted too. He hadn't realized that the JLF wouldn't feel attached to them either. He believed they wouldn't kill a fellow Japanese let alone a resistance fighter. But that was before they were betrayed by their own.

Paranoia and distrust hung thick in the air before they decided to imprison all new recruits until they could sort things out.

But he could already tell that he wasn't getting out anytime soon. Everyone in this cellblock was already resentful of the JLF. And the JLF wasn't stupid, they would recognize their anger.

Which would only mean they had even more reason to betray them now than they had before. Many of the prisoners already openly said they would quit the JLF as soon as they were released. But they knew classified information, meaning they couldn't be released.

It was ironic, he had always expected to end up in a Britannian jail, not a Japanese one.

Maybe he should have followed Kallen to find Zero?

At least he would have been free even if it was a fool's quest. Q2 had been taking the risks. He could have just continued his desk job and it would have been fine.

Just a few short months ago he was Kallen's assistant and controlled a company that spanned the majority of Japan. He organized health care and education nationwide. He was making Japan a better place, but he had to volunteer for that stupid Narita operation.

"…"

No Narita wasn't to blame, they had won decisively there. No he had screwed up when he joined a group of strangers.

Naoto may have forced them to stay a small resistance cell because no one trusted him because of his Britannian looks. But that also meant they trusted every member unconditionally and they would never betray each other.

Yoshida would have never died. Not by Japanese hands at least.

He should have known that he was losing that crucial element when everyone turned on Kallen.

He stared up at the ceiling and examined the yellow stain from water damage. He could almost see Naoto's face in it if he squinted. "I failed you" He quietly admitted.

Inoue looked at him oddly but he ignored her and just ruminated on every way he had failed his best friend.

The clanging stopped and his attention was drawn to whatever finally shut Sugiyama up. He couldn't suppress his flinch as he stared at the grotesque visage of Captain Chiba. The festering boils and blisters that pockmarked her red skin created a visceral reaction in his gut. It wasn't disgust, though it was disgusting to look at, instead it felt more like discomfort and sympathy. Everyone had heard the story of captain Chiba and most valiantly tried not to look away to make her feel more comfortable.

He smiled hopefully at her while wearing the same filthy clothes he's been wearing for the last week with a lovely coating of grime that reeked so fierce he was almost as repulsive as Captain Chiba's face.

He flinched again at his own tactlessness and was grateful he had only been grinning like a lunatic at her.

The Captain looked them over and he could see her swollen lip curl in disgust. "You will form an orderly line and follow me outside where you will be hosed off and then get two hours of fresh air. You will not resist, you will not mouth off and you will not run. Any attempts to escape or to attack us will be met with a bullet." She let it sink in for a moment "Am I clear." Her blistered skin made her look even more menacing as she finished

Oghi nodded frantically and slowly got up and joined the line. He kept his head down, stripped naked, nearly got his nuts blasted off by freezing water and then ran around a bit to get all the sores out of his body. He did it all under gun point and the watchful eye of his Japanese overseers.

At some point Sugiyama got beaten down by the guards and Ohgi just calmly dropped to the ground with his hands folded above his head. He didn't wonder why.

Though if he had to guess he'd say it was because he'd severed his bond with Sugiyama. The one who had convinced him to join the JLF.


End file.
